Rabat – Airplanes of Morocco’s military forces landed in Beirut this morning, April 17, carrying aid to crisis-stricken Lebanon. Less than 12 hours after Morocco’s King Mohammed VI announced his decision to send aid, the first batch of essential food landed in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
Shortly after the royal announcement on Friday night, a military plane departed from Morocco carrying the first batch of the 90 tonnes of food aid that will be provided to Lebanon. The first of eight military planes delivering basic food products to Lebanon arrived on Saturday morning.
Morocco’s swift operation comes in response to Lebanon’s need for food aid. The 90 tonnes of food aid will aim to feed citizens and Lebanon’s armed forces amid a dire economic crisis, worsened by political deadlock and an evolving COVID-19 epidemic.
On Friday, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI announced he would personally fund the large donation of basic food aid desperately needed in the Middle-Eastern state.
Read also: King Mohammed VI Sends Aid to Lebanon Amid Health, Economic Crisis
In his role as Chief of the General Staff of Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) the monarch instructed the military to help alleviate suffering in Lebanon by shipping large amounts of essential food aid to Beirut over the weekend.
Deliveries will continue on Sunday, as Morocco again mobilized its armed forces to provide essential aid to Lebanon, for the second time since August 4, 2020, after the explosion in Beirut.
In August of 2020, Morocco sent humanitarian and medical aid in the aftermath of the devastating explosion that destroyed parts of Lebanon’s capital Beirut. At the time, Morocco’s military planes carried 295 tonnes of food, 10 tonnes of medical equipment, and 11 tonnes of COVID-19 related protective equipment.
Officials in Lebanon later thanked Morocco for its assistance as well as the “level and quality” of medical services provided by a Moroccan military field hospital set up in Beirut following the tragedy in Beirut. Morocco sent 150 medical staff to Lebanon which provided 5,800 Lebanese citizens with essential medical care.
