40 Indonesians evacuated from Beirut

The Indonesian Embassy in Beirut began evacuating 40 Indonesian nationals to Damascus, Syria, following continued attacks by Israel on the Lebanese capital, a newspaper reported Monday.

The 40 Indonesians included family members of embassy staff, children and female workers in the country, said The Jakarta Post.

"We have decided to evacuate them to Damascus. We put women and children as our top priority," Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya was quoted as saying.

Desra said the embassy was maintaining contact with dozens of other Indonesian nationals in the country to keep them informed of the latest situation. Speaking about embassy staff members, he said they would remain in Beirut until further notice.

"If security in Beirut worsens, all diplomats will be evacuated, " he said.

Source: Xinhua