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PISA, Italy, April 10 (AFP) - Three aircraft prepared for the evacuation of Italian nationals from Rwanda were still on the tarmac at Pisa airport Sunday morning, 12 hours after they were due to take off, officials said.
The three Hercules C-130 transport planes of the Italian armed forces were "ready to take off at any moment," the officials at the military airbase said.
No details were given on why take off, which had been scheduled for Saturday evening, was postponed.
The Italian defence ministry earlier said it was in permanent contact with the Belgian and French general staffs, which have set up a centre in Nairobi to coordinate the evacution of westerners from Rwanda.
The east African state is on the brink of full-scale civil war following three days of ethnic bloodletting in which more than 1,000 people have died.
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