Russia delivers humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Lebanon

MOSCOW, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia started delivering humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the emergency situations ministry said Wednesday.

An Il-76 plane with 37 tons of humanitarian consignment onboard took off from the Ramenskoye airfield near Moscow at 10:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) to Beirut, said the Russian ministry.

It will send mobile power stations, 1,500 blankets, 500 sets of dishes, baby food and various preserved food to dozens of thousands of Syrian refugees remaining in Lebanon, said the ministry.

On its way back, the plane will bring Russian nationals and citizens from the Commonwealth of Independent States who were willing to leave Syria, said emergency authorities.

The U.N. Higher Refugees Council (UNHRC) said in its latest report that some 396,000 Syrians have left their conflict-torn country and stayed in Lebanon since the start of the turmoil in March 2011.

UNHRC Commissioner Antonio Guterres announced during his recent trip to Lebanon that the number of Syrian refugees accounts more than 10 percent of the Lebanese population.

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