The Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that between 2,000 and 3,000 Swedes are in war-torn Lebanon.
“Some of these Swedes can be assumed to be permanent residents in Lebanon for a long time,” writes the Foreign Ministry in an email to SVT.
Around 800 are currently registered on the so-called Swedish list, which is used by the Foreign Ministry to be able to contact Swedish travelers if necessary.
In the last week, the Foreign Ministry has received more than 100 calls related to the current situation in Lebanon.
S requirement to take home Swedish children
The Social Democrats want the government, which has no evacuation plans, to evacuate Swedish children from Lebanon.
– The Swedish children who may now be in Lebanon, they have not gone there of their own free will. It is not their decision, said S leader Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday Current.
But according to Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), it is not relevant.
– The parents have a very big responsibility who have chosen to take their children to or keep their children in Lebanon despite the strictest advice that Sweden has had for almost a year.
Can help pay for plane tickets
The foreign minister says the government can help pay for plane tickets. Right now, the cheapest from Beirut to Stockholm costs just over SEK 4,000 and the most expensive around SEK 16,000, according to Flygresor.se.
– There are still commercial flights from Beirut, says Stenergard.
– I strongly urge parents to bring their children safely in accordance with the advice that applies.
The government has also decided to move the Swedish embassy back to Beirut, where parents can, among other things, get help in issuing passports to their children.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no “aggregated data” on how many underage Swedes are in Lebanon.
No evacuation plans in the north
Several countries around the world plan to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon to varying degrees. Such plans do not exist in Sweden or its neighboring countries, although all urge their citizens to leave.
Howl writes that a full-scale Finnish evacuation is far away. Denmark has arranged for Danes who signed up on the Danish list to have the right of first refusal on flight tickets out of Lebanon, according to The newspaper.
100 Finns should be in Lebanon, according to EPN, and at least 90 Norwegians, according to TV2. The number of Danes is unclear, according to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. About 470 are listed on the Danish list, but the number may be lower or higher.