"They are currently staying at the Indonesian Embassy in Damaskus."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government will speed up the repatriation of Indonesian citizens in Syria by moving them to Beirut, Lebanon, according to a foreign ministry official.

"The government has planned to use the Damaskus-Beirut-Jakarta route for the repatriation of Indonesian citizens from Syria," the Foreign Ministry`s media and public relations director, PLE Priatna, said here in a press release on Thursday.

"They are currently staying at the Indonesian Embassy in Damaskus and will be moved to Beirut soon," he stated.

"Other administrative efforts, including the provision of flight tickets for the Indonesian citizens to return home, are under way," Priatna continued.

The number of Indonesian citizens who have taken refuge in the Damascus-based facility has exceeded 600 and is likely to increase as the conflict escalates in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian ambassador to Lebanon, Dimas Samodra Rum, said his embassy was ready to welcome the Indonesian citizens from Syria.

"In order to accommodate more than 600 Indonesian citizens here, the embassy will make optimal use of its premises and, if necessary, we will temporarily rent some apartments," he explained.

"We will mobilize all our resources to assist the repatriation process, because it has become the main priority," Dimas stated.

He noted that 156 Indonesian citizens had arrived in Beirut on December 24 and 198 more were expected to arrive on Thursday.

Dimas stated that Indonesian embassy in Beirut had urged the Lebanese government to issue visas to the Indonesian citizens upon their arrival, which would allow them to stay in the country for at least two days.

"However, the Lebanese government has issued a visa that will allow them to stay in the country for up to a month now," he added.

Dimas noted that 633 Indonesian citizens have so far been repatriated from Syria through the Damsakus-Beirut-Jakarta route.

"The Lebanese government also let our citizens stay visa-free for two days and provided 14 flights to Indonesia," he said.

"The Lebanese government has set the visa fares for those Indonesian citizens who have been allowed to stay for more than two days in the country. A visa for 10 days of stay will cost LBP25,000 or Rp158,000, while the one for 30 days' stay will cost LBP50,000 or Rp316,000," Dimas added.
(Uu.J010/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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