Chinese transporter carrying evacuees from Libya arrives in Sudan

An Il-76 transport aircraft from China lands in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, March 1, 2011. China has sent four military transporters on Feb. 28 to bring home its nationals from Libya, according to the information office of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. (Xinhua/Mohmmed Babiker)

KHARTOUM, March 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military transporter carrying 250 Chinese nationals evacuated from Libya arrived here on Wednesday morning.

The Il-76 MD transport aircraft landed in the Khartoum international airport in the early morning.

The evacuees on board are the first batch of Chinese nationals evacuated from Libya by the Chinese military transport aircraft via Sudan. More evacuees are expected to arrive here later.

China has sent four military transporters to bring home its nationals from Libya, the information office of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense confirmed on Monday.

The Chinese military transport aircraft arrived here on Tuesday from China and then flew into Libya to carry Chinese nationals stranded in the riot-torn country via Sudan.

The Chinese nationals who arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday would stay here temporarily. Some of them would head for China by the military transporter, and the rest would leave for home in China in a couple of days either by chartered planes or regular flights.

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen welcomed the evacuees at the airport.

Besides the Chinese nationals, some Nepalese and Bangladeshi citizens still stranded in the southern Libyan city of Sebha would also be evacuated by the Chinese transporters, according to Li.