The first batch of 54 Bangladeshi nationals evacuated from the war zone in Lebanon has reached the country.
The plane carrying them landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 6 pm on Monday.
The group consists of 54 people including 26 men, 20 women, six children and two newborns.
Last Sunday at 10:50 PM, the plane started its journey from Beirut, Lebanon and reached Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After a 5-hour transit, the plane left for Dhaka at noon.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Tauhid Hossain told the media that the government has started the repatriation of registered Bangladeshi citizens from Lebanon. A limited number of expatriates are initially being turned away due to insufficient seats on flights outbound from Beirut.
Repatriation efforts are being coordinated in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to ensure the safe return of Bangladeshis affected by the ongoing conflict in Lebanon.
There are approximately 70,000 to 1,000,000 Bangladeshi citizens in Lebanon. However, about 1,800 of them have expressed interest in returning to the country.
About 160 of them have legal documents required for repatriation.
