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Aussies escape by bus
Dance troupe now safe in Syria
Border Mail, Australia
July 18 2006
Members of an Armenian dance troupe who had been stranded in Lebanon
were among 86 Australians safely evacuated from the war-torn country
by bus, braving Israeli bombing attacks to cross to safety into Syria.
A Sydney spokesman for the Sevan Dance Group, Archbishop Aghan
Baliozian, said the 45 young performers and 36 parents and supervisors
had been picked up from their Beirut hotel in a three-bus convoy
yesterday morning.
The busloads of Australians fled Beirut, heading north along the
Mediterranean coast road and early last night crossing the Syrian
border and on to the capital Damascus.
"They had an uneventful trip to Syria and I can confirm they are
now in Damascus," Archbishop Baliozian said.
"We expect them to be taken to Jordan tomorrow, where they will fly
to Bahrain, and to be in Sydney in two days."
Thousands more Australians remain trapped in Lebanon as Australia
struggles to get them home, but last night's successful operation
could be repeated in days to come.
"Tomorrow, we will endeavour to try to repeat this exercise,"
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said as he announced the evacuation
in Adelaide last night.
Hundreds more are set to be evacuated by ship later this week, he said.
Mr Downer had earlier warned of the potential danger of evacuating
Australians by road, saying some Italians fleeing Lebanon had almost
been hit by a missile.
The coastal route north from Beirut to Syria has been used by several
other nations to evacuate their citizens, but convoys have been
held up by Israeli bombing attacks as part of their campaign against
Hezbollah guerillas.
While Mr Downer said earlier yesterday that Australia believed it
had found a safe land route out of Lebanon, he warned: "This is a
difficult and hazardous exercise".
"It's a war situation and in a war there are high risks - there
are risks trying to get out of the country, there are risks staying
in the country."
Mr Downer said he had spoken to Israel's Foreign Minister before the
busload of Australians departed Beirut, but said Israel had given no
assurances about the safety of those on the buses.
However he said Australia's close relationship with Israel was a
factor in the operation.
"I really appreciate the fact that we gave the information to the
Israelis about what we were doing and the route we were taking,"
he said.
Dance troupe now safe in Syria
Border Mail, Australia
July 18 2006
Members of an Armenian dance troupe who had been stranded in Lebanon
were among 86 Australians safely evacuated from the war-torn country
by bus, braving Israeli bombing attacks to cross to safety into Syria.
A Sydney spokesman for the Sevan Dance Group, Archbishop Aghan
Baliozian, said the 45 young performers and 36 parents and supervisors
had been picked up from their Beirut hotel in a three-bus convoy
yesterday morning.
The busloads of Australians fled Beirut, heading north along the
Mediterranean coast road and early last night crossing the Syrian
border and on to the capital Damascus.
"They had an uneventful trip to Syria and I can confirm they are
now in Damascus," Archbishop Baliozian said.
"We expect them to be taken to Jordan tomorrow, where they will fly
to Bahrain, and to be in Sydney in two days."
Thousands more Australians remain trapped in Lebanon as Australia
struggles to get them home, but last night's successful operation
could be repeated in days to come.
"Tomorrow, we will endeavour to try to repeat this exercise,"
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said as he announced the evacuation
in Adelaide last night.
Hundreds more are set to be evacuated by ship later this week, he said.
Mr Downer had earlier warned of the potential danger of evacuating
Australians by road, saying some Italians fleeing Lebanon had almost
been hit by a missile.
The coastal route north from Beirut to Syria has been used by several
other nations to evacuate their citizens, but convoys have been
held up by Israeli bombing attacks as part of their campaign against
Hezbollah guerillas.
While Mr Downer said earlier yesterday that Australia believed it
had found a safe land route out of Lebanon, he warned: "This is a
difficult and hazardous exercise".
"It's a war situation and in a war there are high risks - there
are risks trying to get out of the country, there are risks staying
in the country."
Mr Downer said he had spoken to Israel's Foreign Minister before the
busload of Australians departed Beirut, but said Israel had given no
assurances about the safety of those on the buses.
However he said Australia's close relationship with Israel was a
factor in the operation.
"I really appreciate the fact that we gave the information to the
Israelis about what we were doing and the route we were taking,"
he said.