Attack at Lebanon airport

"The evacuation of Sri Lankans living in Lebanon is an extremely difficult and critical task, but we are doing our best", Herath said.

Evacuation process has been disrupted in many ways; sea and air ports are not operating; and the road leading to Syria from Lebanon is damaged due to bombing, he said.

"The Lebanese government is at present ineffective but we are trying our best to protect them", Herath said.

It is also a difficult task to practically look into about 80,000 Sri Lankans living across Lebanon, but the Embassy would act immediately in emergency situations, he said.

	Attack in Beirut, Lebanon

Second secretary, Kithsiri Herath said most of them are housemaids and working on contract signed with their masters. As a result masters do not like to release them.

"Adding fuel to flame is illegal immigrants who do not have visas. They work without any binding. The Lebanese authorities fefuse to allow them to move ", Hearth said.

Illegal Immigrants

There are those who have been sacked by their employers and also those who have fled for fear, he said.

At present when there are bomb attacks, they take refuge in places of protection and go back, Herath said.

The Embassy is constantly in touch with the authorities of Sri Lankan and Lebanese governments and are taking steps to evacuate the Sri Lankans caught up in this crisis, Second Secretary of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Lebanon, Kithsiri Herath said.

IOM Team

Jemini Pandya, spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told journalists that the IOM had rushed a team to Lebanon to assess the situation and list the number of people needed to be evacuated.