Ship will take Canadians from Tyre: Ottawa

Up to 1,000 Canadian citizens will be transported from Tyre in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the government says.

An announcement posted ontheDepartment of Foreign Affairs' website on Sunday night said a ship chartered by the government is expected in Tyre early Wednesday morning.

"Canadian citizens and their dependants currently in the Tyre area and wishing to leave Lebanon should go directly to the port of Tyre and should not wait for further communication from the Embassy of Canada in Beirut."

The plan for the evacuation from Tyre had been raised Sunday, suddenly cancelled, and then re-instated.

Removing Canadians from Lebanon through Tyre means they will not have to make the arduous and potentially dangerous journey to Beirut, the port of departure for most people leaving the country.

They are fleeing Israeli attacks, launched after Hezbollah militants entered northern Israel on July 12 and attacked an army post.Israel has responded with air attacks,incursions by troops and tanks into Lebanon,and a naval blockade.

Early Monday, two ships carrying another 1,300 Canadian citizens arrived at theCypriot port of Larnaca,while a third vessel with about 800 people was reported on its way.

Another two ships are carrying Canadians to Turkey, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Sunday.

The ships carrying 2,488Canadians that left Beirut on Sunday raised the totalof Canadians evacuated from Lebanon to 6,700, the government said.

Long journey home

Butofficialswarned Canadiansat processing centres in the city to expect a journey of up to 71 hours to get home.

As many as 50,000 Canadians were thoughttohave been in Lebanon when the conflict erupted. TheForeign Affairs Department said several days ago that at least 30,000 Canadians had registered at the Beirut embassy.

The violence has killed atleast375 people in Lebanon, including at least eight Canadians, and 36 people in Israel. About600,000 people mostly in Lebanon are thought to have fled their homes.

Canadian officialssaid Sunday thatOttawa would continue to send rescue vessels to Lebanon until early August and later if necessary.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government initially chartered seven passenger vessels to ferry Canadians from Lebanon, where theonly international airport has been unusable since Israel bombed its runways early in the conflict.

As well, many roads and bridges have been bombed and other roads are choked with debris and broken glass.

Slow to react

Travellers initially complained that Harper's government had been too slow to react to the crisis. Later, they said the evacuation process had been disorganized and exhausting.

But officials said the system has since started running much more smoothly.

"This is a unique situation that requires learning new skills and building up capabilities very quickly," Maj. Peter Peril of the Canadian Forces said on Saturday.

"Mistakes sometimes do get made, but we've learned well from them and we've made improvements."