Russia to send aircraft to evacuate nationals in Syria

MOSCOW - Russia prepares to send two aircraft to pick up its nationals in Syria, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said Monday.

"Russian authorities ordered the Emergency Situations Ministry to send two planes to Beirut, Lebanon, to allow all the Russian nationals who desire to leave Syria for their homeland," the ministry's spokeswoman Irina Rossius told the Interfax news agency.

The planes, an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft and a Yak-42, are to leave for Beirut on Tuesday, Rossius added.

Some 100 Russian citizens would be evacuated from the war-torn country, according to the ministry.

The 22-month-old Syrian crisis deteriorates as the government's vision for ending the bloodshed has been rejected by the opposition.