One after the other, six Gulf countries called on their nationals in Lebanon this weekend to be cautious and “stay away from areas experiencing security unrest.” Two monarchies, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, have gone further, asking their citizens to leave Lebanon.
In response to these calls, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati instructed caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib to contact “the Arab brothers to reassure them about the safety of their nationals in Lebanon.”
Several diplomatic sources have linked the Gulf countries’ move to the fatal clashes that have been taking place for the past ten days in the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Helweh between Fateh and Islamist groups. In response, Mikati sought to provide reassurance. On Saturday, his press office stated that information gathered from military and security commands “indicates that the overall security situation does not call for concern or panic.”
He further instructed caretaker Minister of Interior Bassam Maoulaoui to convene the Central Security Council to discuss “the challenges that Lebanon may face in these tense regional circumstances and to take appropriate decisions to preserve security in all Lebanese regions.”
The Calls
The various embassies of the Gulf countries used the same terminology, and published the phone numbers on which their nationals could reach out to them.
On Sunday morning, the Qatari Embassy in Lebanon called on its nationals “to exercise caution and stay away from areas that are currently experiencing unrest.”
🇱🇧🇶🇦| سفارة دولة قطر لدى الجمهورية اللبنانية تدعو المواطنين لأخذ الحيطة والحذر والابتعاد عن المناطق التي تشهد الأحداث الحالية
وتناشد القطريين المتواجدين في #لبنان إلى التواصل مع السفارة في الحالات الطارئة:
009611835111
009611835444@MofaQatar_AR #مرسال_قطر | #قطر pic.twitter.com/TInbJk8qHi— مرسال قطر (@Marsalqatar) August 5, 2023
In turn, the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman called on its nationals in Lebanon to “exercise caution and respect the necessary security measures by staying away from areas experiencing armed conflict, while following the security instructions as issued by the competent authorities.”
— سفارة سلطنة عُمان – بيروت │ OMAN EMBASSY – BEIRUT (@OmanEmbassyLBN) August 5, 2023
On Sunday, the UAE Foreign Ministry “stressed the importance of respecting the previously published decision prohibiting UAE citizens from traveling to Lebanon”. It clarified that this message aims to “preserve their safety”.
— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) August 6, 2023
On Saturday evening, Bahrain called on its nationals to leave Lebanon and asked those who are already there not to approach “areas of armed conflict,” according to a statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On Saturday morning, the Kuwaiti embassy called on nationals of its country “to exercise caution, to stay away from troubled areas in certain regions and to respect the instructions issued by the competent local authorities.”
بيان| سفارة دولة #الكويت لدى الجمهورية اللبنانية بشأن الإضطرابات الأمنية في الجمهورية اللبنانية.
البيان كاملاً: https://t.co/KLfQKFd1M3
🇰🇼🇱🇧 pic.twitter.com/Stc8SLfG7h
— وزارة الخارجية (@MOFAKuwait) August 4, 2023
On Friday night, Saudi Arabia was the first to address its nationals in Lebanon.
Its embassy asked Saudi citizens “not to approach areas that are experiencing armed conflict.” In a tweet, it also called on them to “quickly leave Lebanese territory, and respect the decision prohibiting Saudis from traveling to Lebanon.”
تود السفارة تحذير المواطنين الكرام من التواجد والاقتراب من المناطق التي تشهد نزاعات مسلحة، كما تطالب المواطنين بسرعة مغادرة الأراضي اللبنانية pic.twitter.com/QNeaPqnZBa
— السفارة السعودية لدى لبنان (@KSAembassyLB) August 4, 2023
