May 9 (Reuters) - European nations issued warnings about travel to Lebanon where the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group took control of the Muslim half of Beirut on Friday.

Following is the advice from European nations:

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BRITAIN - The British government advised against travelling to Lebanon.

"If you are currently in Lebanon you should exercise particular vigilance at this time and wherever possible avoid areas where there has been fighting in recent days," the Foreign Office said.

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FRANCE - The French foreign ministry said it had issued a warning against travel to Lebanon and was following the situation on the ground closely, but did not plan to evacuate French nationals at this time.

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ITALY - Italy's foreign ministry said it was preparing an evacuation plan for its nationals in Beirut. A ministry spokesman said the plan was not operational yet and would be enforced only if necessary.

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