Jul 16, 2006 11:55 am US/Eastern
U.S. Evacuation Teams Arrive In Lebanon
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) ―
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French officials at the French consulate in Beirut register French residents and tourists for evacuation from Beirut to Cyprus via boat, July 16, 2006, as Israel continued bombing Hezbollah strongholds for the fifth consecutive day.
ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images
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A family carries their belongings as it heads to the immigration office to flee Lebanon and cross to Syria at Jedeidet Yabus, July 16, 2006.
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images
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Lebanese citizens survey the damages after an Israeli air raid on Zebqine, outside Nabatiyeh, 85km south of Beirut, July 16, 2006.
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. security teams arrived by helicopter Sunday at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to start planning the evacuation of Americans from Lebanon.
Two helicopters flew in from over the Mediterranean and landed on the embassy grounds, located on a fortified hilltop in the north Beirut suburb of Aukar, witnesses said.
"The arrival of the teams is an important first step in facilitating the safe departure of Americans who want to leave Lebanon," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.
It said the teams would arrange for "secure transportation for American citizens who wish to depart Lebanon." There are an estimated 25,000 Americans living or working in Lebanon, but U.S. officials said they assume that far fewer would choose to leave.
The United States said Saturday it was working on a plan to evacuate American citizens from Lebanon to the neighboring island of Cyprus.
Israeli airstrikes targeting runways have closed down Beirut's international airport. Israel also imposed a naval blockade on the country and has made road travel dangerous by targeting the main highway between Lebanon and neighboring Syria.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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