Egypt (Saloum), March 18, GNA - Fifty-two stranded Ghanaians at Saloum on the Egypt- Libya border were on Thursday evacuated to Cairo Airport to be airlifted to Ghana on Saturday.

Another 24 people including a pregnant woman and a stroke patient would leave Cairo on Thursday night with Ethiopian Airlines and are expected in Ghana on Friday.

The Evacuation Liaison Team (ELT) in collaboration with the Ghana Mission in Cairo have cleared the border of evacuees.

However there are claims that a number of Ghanaians in the eastern part of Libya are hesitant to move out of the politically embattled North African country because of the fear of losing their property.

The approach of pro-Gaddafi forces and the intensity of the battle with rebels in the adjoining city before Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya makes it compulsory for the evacuees to exit through the Saloum border as quickly as possible.

A foreign correspondent who crossed over from Benghazi to Egypt on Thursday morning in respect of the relative calm prevailing in the area, described the phenomenon as calm before the storm".

The ELT asked Ghanaians in Libya who could be reached by phone to proceed to the border as early as possible.

However a lot of Libyans are crossing to the Egyptian border with their families because of the mayhem the beleaguered Libyan leader may visit on them as he tries to conquer the last rebels strong hold in the country.

From Ken Sackey, GNA Special Correspondent Egypt