As fighting continues between Israel and Hezbollah, planning for a potential evacuation of British nationals from Lebanon has seen troops, ships and aircraft preparing in Cyprus and the wider region. Defence Secretary John Healey has chaired meetings in London to avoid the government being caught on the hop as happened before the evacuation from Kabul in 2021, following the unexpected collapse of the Afghan National Army.
UK tabloids are already screaming about a ‘Dunkirk-style’ amphibious evacuation should an air extraction route become unavailable. This comparison is misleading. Naval planners had only seven days before launching the miraculous evacuation of 330,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force in 1940 under ferocious German attack. Evacuation plans of perhaps 6,500 Britons and dual nationals left in Lebanon have been in place for years. Any evacuation will only be possible with the consent, explicit or tacit, of the two sides and assistance of the Lebanese government. Moreover, there is extensive UK government planning for and experience of civilian and military evacuations. This is how it goes about them.
The evacuation of around 4,500 British Nationals from Lebanon in 2006 provides a useful example of a military evacuation
The Foreign Office (FCDO) has the lead for providing ‘consular services’ to British nationals abroad, and dealing with crises that affect them such as a natural disaster, extreme weather event, large-scale accident, civil unrest, terrorism or war. In London, a core team leads contingency planning. Each embassy reports regularly on emerging crisis risks and keeps its own plan to deal with them, including for the worst-case scenario: evacuation and even closure of the embassy itself.
There have been several major crises demanding repatriation or evacuation to the UK over the last four years, including Covid (38,000 repatriated on charter flights), Kabul (15,000 evacuated via military means), Sudan (2,500 evacuated via the military), Russia-Ukraine (evacuation of British Embassy in Kyiv), Rhodes wildfires (tourists repatriated via commercial airlines) and Israel/Gaza (assisted repatriation).
As a crisis emerges and escalates, the system swings into action. A specialist crisis team, helped by experts from other government departments, is established in London. Something called a Rapid Deployment Team may be sent forward to assist the local embassy, which will launch its own crisis plan, talk with local authorities, and may ask British nationals to register online so the government knows how many people it is evacuation and can communicate with its people. This has already happened in Beirut. However, as seen in Afghanistan, achieving absolute clarity on the number and location of those entitled to evacuation is likely impossible. Online travel advice will also be updated, perhaps advising against all but essential travel or even that British nationals need to leave the country immediately.
The crisis team will draw up options for evacuation. A key principle is that individuals are responsible for themselves when living and travelling abroad; there is not a general duty of care to British nationals overseas nor, in times of unrest or strife, any guarantee that the UK government will be able to assist. The expectation is that most will leave if advised or cajoled to do so, reducing the risk of harm and size of any evacuation task. Evacuation can be achieved via encouraging Britons to drive themselves out to safety, or using existing air or maritime commercial routes. If no land route exists and if airlines lack capacity or stop operating (and if the security situation allows) the FCDO may charter civilian options (for a fee).
There will always be those who can’t leave due to the rapid onset of the crisis, or for medical and humanitarian reasons. Some may simply refuse to go. Others won’t heed the advice, will try stick it out, and then seek government assistance. For example, the FCDO advised British Nationals in October 2023 against all travel to Lebanon and encouraged British nationals to leave while commercial options remained available. A year on, with these options much harder to find, some feeling stuck demand that the government ‘send the planes now’.
The FCDO prefers to evacuate people through civil means. In extreme and rare circumstances, it may request that the Ministry of Defence send personnel, aircraft or ships to evacuate people from the affected country. The military will protect and extract those deemed eligible via air and sea to a place of safety. British doctrine has been recently updated to reflect lessons from the evacuations from Afghanistan, Sudan and Ukraine.
The evacuation of around 4,500 British Nationals from Lebanon in 2006 provides a useful example of a military evacuation and a template for another evacuation if ordered. Then, with Beirut airport unavailable, RAF helicopters started ferrying the most vulnerable the short distance from Beirut to Cyprus. Royal Naval and charter vessels later received evacuees by boat and helicopter before transporting them to Cyprus for medical checks and the return home. If Beirut airport remains available, RAF transport aircraft could be used as they were in 2021 in Kabul. If not, ships can be used (although catastrophic damage to Beirut port in 2020 will complicate things). The aircraft and ships may need help from RAF combat aircraft or soldiers on the ground to ensure security.
Whether via civilian or military means, any evacuation will be unique, complex, unpredictable and rapid. The UK’s track record is good – even the withdrawal from Kabul.