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Two Belarusians flown out of Syria

Two citizens of Belarus have been evacuated from Syria by a plane of the Russian emergency management ministry, Dzmitry Mironchyk, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, told BelaPAN on Friday.

The IL 76 aircraft carrying 15 tons of humanitarian aid flew to Syria on the morning of August 14. It brought a total of 60 people to Moscow, including 42 citizens of Russia, 10 citizens of other member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and eight citizens of Syria, according to Russian media reports.

The Belarusian foreign ministry constantly follows the developments in Syria and is ready to assist Belarusians willing to return to Belarus, Mr. Mironchyk noted.

The unrest in Syria started in March 2011 after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. In the past three years, more than 100,000 Syrians have reportedly been killed in the escalating conflict between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule.