Relief As Lebanon Evacuees Dock In Turkey

As the first boat docked in Mersin port, Turkish soldiers helped the passengers disembark, one carrying a crying toddler, while another pushed a boy in a wheelchair (Credit: AFP)

Exhausted but relieved, hundreds of Turkish citizens and their families docked in southern Turkey late Thursday after being evacuated from war-torn Lebanon on two naval ships sent by Ankara.

"The situation is very bad back in Beirut. My kids were very scared. We are the lucky ones," Esra Gongu, a mother in her thirties told AFP on disembarking from the TCG Bayraktar which docked at 9:00 pm (1800 GMT) after a 13-hour journey.