Expatriates arrive in Switzerland from Chad
The first Swiss evacuated from the fighting in the African state of Chad have returned to Switzerland.
Thirty-eight people flew via Paris and landed in Zurich, Geneva and Basel on Monday, the Swiss foreign ministry reported.
In all, 54 Swiss have now flown from the Chad capital N’Djamena, according to Markus Boerlin, head of the ministry’s emergency task force.
Twenty other Swiss, currently under French protection, were to be flown by the French to the capital of Gabon, Libreville.
Boerlin said 27 others were sheltering in the eastern Chad town of Abéché, while 16 others were in different, quieter parts of the country.
Bern on Monday said it had sent a charter plane to Libreville, where it was to pick up Swiss and probably citizens of other countries.
Thousands of people are now reported to have left N’Djamena after fighting between government and rebel forces.
The foreign ministry on Sunday said that the activities of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Chad – a priority country – had been suspended as a result of the hostilities.
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