The first batch of emergency humanitarian relief materials, sent by the Red Cross Society of China to war-torn Libya, departed from the Tianjin Airport early Thursday morning.

The relief materials, weighing about 90 tonnes, included rice, edible oil and medicine, and are scheduled to arrive in Benghazi Thursday afternoon Beijing time.

The Red Cross Society of China said it decided to offer two batches of humanitarian relief aid to Libya in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The aid is worth 50 million yuan (about $7.825 millon) in total.

The organization didn't say when the second batch of the relief aid would be shipped.

It said as a member of International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, it had been closely following the development of the situation in Libya, adding Chinese people deeply sympathize with the Libyan people.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2011)