Twenty-four Russian citizens who were unable to leave Lebanon by plane arrived Sunday at the border with neighboring Syria from where they are expected to fly aboard an Aeroflot aircraft back to Russia.
"An airliner will leave for Moscow from Damascus tonight and will land at Sheremetyevo airport at 6:40 a.m. Moscow time (2:40 a.m. GMT) tomorrow," Aeroflot spokeswoman Irina Dannenberg said.
According to various reports, the Iranian-backed Islamist group Hezbollah took control of the Muslim half of Beirut on Friday after three days of fighting with pro-government militia. At least 18 people had reportedly been killed and over 100 wounded in the worst internal clashes since the 1975-90 civil war.
On Friday the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed serious concern over the recent surge of violence in Lebanon following the government's actions targeting Hezbollah's military communications network.
"We urge Lebanese politicians to show restraint and wisdom in this complex and urgent situation," the ministry said in a statement. "All efforts must be focused on preventing the escalation of the conflict."
The European Union also urged calm and a peaceful resolution to the crisis, while Iran blamed the U.S. and Israel for fuelling the conflict by meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs.
