Rome, Dec 16 (IANS/AKI) A group of sick Libyan children will arrive at Rome's Ciampino military airport board a Defence Ministry plane on Tuesday as part of an Italian government initiative to help paediatric patients from the war-torn country, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Deputy Foreign Minister Marina Sereni will be at Ciampino to welcome the children, who all suffer from grave haematologic diseases and come from the Benghazi area in eastern Libya, the statement said.

The children will be treated at Vatican's Bambin Gesu paediatric hospital, which is partnering the Italian government in the initiative, the statement added.

A first group of children from Benghazi with haematologic diseases arrived at Ciampino on September 19 for treatment at the Bambin Gesu hospital under the initiative.

Haematologic diseases include blood cell cancers, rare genetic disorders, anaemia, conditions related to HIV, sickle cell disease, and complications from chemotherapy or transfusions.

--IANS/AKI
vd