Beirut: All 75 Indian nationals evacuated from Syria including 44 ‘Zaireen’ from Jammu and Kashmir who were stranded at Saida Zainab, have now reached Beirut, a statement by the Indian embassy in Lebanon said. The statement added that Noor Rahman Sheikh, Ambassador of India to Lebanon received them in Beirut.The statement added that the passengers will return by available commercial flights to India. In a post on X, the Embassy said, “All 75 Indian nationals evacuated from Syria including 44 ‘zaireen’ from Jammu & Kashmir who were stranded at Saida Zainab, have now reached Beirut. Ambassador Noor Rahman received them upon their arrival in Beirut. They will return by available commercial flights to India.”The evacuation, coordinated by the embassies of India in Damascus and Beirut, was put into effect following our assessment of the security situation and requests from Indian nationals in Syria, as per a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.The Government of India accords the highest priority to the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad. Indian nationals remaining in Syria are advised to stay in touch with the Indian Embassy in Damascus at their emergency helpline number +963 993385973 (also on WhatsApp) and email ID ([email protected]) for updates. The Government will continue to monitor the situation closely, as per the MEA statement.India has evacuated 75 nationals from Syria, where the rebel forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham wrested power, ousting Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The situation in Syria remains a focal point after Syrian rebels on Sunday entered Damascus, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee from the country, ending his over two-decade rule in the country.Russia has granted asylum to Assad and his family, TASS reported citing a Kremlin source. The source confirmed that Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow and Russia has granted asylum for them, being driven by “humanitarian considerations.”
