With the Lebanon-Israel truce having been announced, the clean-up work on the oil spill off the Lebanese coast can finally get underway.
OPEC has pledged 200,000 USD from their humanitarian fund to assist in cleaning up 150 km of polluted shorelines. About from the 10,000-15,000 tons oil spilled from the Jiyeh power station.
The UN had previously sent to envoys to Syria to take stock of the situation and has now announced that an International Assistance Plan has been drawn up to help the Lebanese government in dealing with the environmental disaster.
Experts under the aegis of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center for the Mediterranean Sea drafted the plan which will be presented for scrutiny on Thursday at Athens.
The fund pledged by OPEC will be channeled through the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and will be spent on essential supplies.
Previous efforts to clean up teh oil spill met with Israeli naval blockades. Lebanese Environment Minister said his country will sue Israel for "this terrible crime", but did not give any details nor has there been any follow up since his statement last week.
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