Second government aircraft flight to evacuate Bulgarians from Lebanon
For the second consecutive day, a Bulgarian government aircraft flew on October 1 to evacuate Bulgarians from Lebanon, as the conflict between Israel and terrorist group Hezbollah intensified.
A total of 89 Bulgarians arrived in Sofia on a flight from Beirut on the Bulgarian government aircraft on September 30, and on October 1, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev – speaking ahead of the day’s flight – said that 61 Bulgarians had asked to be evacuated on the second trip.
Glavchev said that if the seats on the plane were not filled, the remaining unoccupied ones will be offered to EU member states.
According to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, there are about 400 Bulgarian citizens in Lebanon, but only some of them had asked to be evacuated.
Glavchev told reporters: “I preferred to carry out the flight while there is an opportunity for one, as you can see that the situation is dynamic”.
He paid tribute to the State Aviation Operator, as well as the contribution of the Bulgarian and partner services for achieving a safe flight.
“We are monitoring the situation together and reacting appropriately,” Glavchev said.
Bulgarian President Roumen Radev said on October 1 that the most important task is to ensure the safe return from Lebanon of all Bulgarian citizens who want to be evacuated.
Radev, commenting on the latest military actions taken by Israel against Hezbollah and possible retaliatory actions, said that Hezbollah did not have the military capacity to oppose Israel, but it could resort to terrorist actions.
“Seeing the huge difference in the military potential of Hezbollah, I am talking about weaponry, as an organisation, against one of the most high-tech armies in the world,” Radev said.
“As a result, we are judging and can be expected to respond with asymmetric means, that is, with terrorist attacks. That is what we’re really paying close attention to right now,” he said.
(Screenshot via the Bulgarian government’s Facebook page)
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