Iran helps repatriate Lebanese

Fri Apr 15, 2011

An Iranian Mahan Airlines plane has arrived at Beirut International Airport from Abidjan in Ivory Coast with 195 Lebanese expatriates onboard.

The expatriates were received by the Lebanese officials and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi at Beirut International Airport.

The transfer came after Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah called for assistance to the Lebanese community in Ivory Coast.

Ivory Coast was plunged into a political crisis after the November presidential election.

The UN and the African Union recognized Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the polls, but incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refused to hand over power and pressed charges of vote-rigging against his rival.

Violence intensified after all mediation efforts by the African Union and ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States), as well as the internationally imposed sanctions failed to yield any results.

After losing control of most of the country, Gbagbo was confined to his presidential residence in Abidjan and was eventually arrested on April 11.

Ouattara has indicated that his deposed rival will face criminal charges at national and international levels.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174932.html.