BEIJING - China's first shipment of emergency humanitarian aid for Tunisia departed on Thursday evening to help the Tunisian government with the placement of refugees fleeing its neighboring nation Libya.

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The relief materials, weighing 93 tonnes, included 1,500 tents and about 20 tonnes of medicine, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website.

These supplies will be flown to the island of Djerba from Beijing, the ministry said.

The second shipment of relief supplies will be dispatched on April 9, it said.

China announced plans to offer 50-million-yuan ($7.6 million) in aid to Tunisia and Egypt on March 18, including $2 million in cash and about 30.3 million yuan worth of relief supplies for Tunisia.