STOCKHOLM, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Swedish officials began evacuating thousands of Swedes from Lebanon on Sunday morning as Israel stepped up its military campaign against Hezbollah militants there.

    Ten buses, each with 50 seats, have been requisitioned and will shuttle back and forth between Beirut in Lebanon and Aleppo in Syria, Swedish news agency TT reported.

    The Swedish consulate in Beirut and the embassy in Damascus are also trying to procure more buses.

    The journey is expected to take nine hours, depending on the quality of the roads. First to be evacuated will be people with special requirements, such as families with small children and pregnant women, according to TT.

    The evacuees are likely to stay overnight in Syria before being flown home to Sweden.

    Additionally, boat transportation to Cyprus from Lebanon is expected to get underway on Monday at the earliest.

    "This is all about safety. Sweden must get guarantees from the parties in the conflict that it will be safe to use this road," said Kent Oberg at the press office in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Enditem