Bahrain calls on its citizens to leave Lebanon for their ‘safety’

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Bahrain calls on its citizens to leave Lebanon for their ‘safety’

Bahrain calls on its citizens to leave Lebanon for their ‘safety’

Deadly clashes erupted between Palestinian factions in the Ain El-Hilweh refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, Lebanon, Aug. 3, 2023. (AP)

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06 Aug 2023 01:08:03 GMT9

LONDON: Bahrain has urged its citizens to adhere to an advisory issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cautioning them against traveling to Lebanon for their safety, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The ministry called on all Bahraini citizens not to travel to Lebanon “in order to protect them from exposure to any dangers, calling for them to leave the Lebanese territory for their safety,” the statement said.

Citizens are required to contact the Bahrain Embassy in Damascus for assistance in case of emergencies.

MoFA calls on Bahraini citizens to abide by statements issued previously not to travel to Lebanonhttps://t.co/l8xL2PqfRE
— وزارة الخارجية 🇧🇭 (@bahdiplomatic) August 5, 2023

The call follows similar statements issued by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany and Britain, who updated their travel warnings amid clashes between rival factions in the Ain El-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

“The Kingdom’s Embassy in Lebanon warned citizens against being present and approaching areas witnessing armed conflicts, and demanded they quickly leave Lebanese territory,” the Saudi embassy said late Friday, also stressing “the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon.”

Kuwait issued its advisory early on Saturday calling on Kuwaitis in Lebanon to stay vigilant and avoid “areas of security disturbances,” but stopped short of asking them to leave the country, according to a Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry statement posted on X.

On Aug. 1, the UK updated its travel advice for Lebanon, advising against “all but essential travel” to parts of Lebanon’s south near the Palestinian camp of Ain El-Hilweh.

At least 13 people, most of them militants, have been killed in fighting that erupted in the camp on July 29 between mainstream faction Fatah and hard-line extremists.

Ain El-Hilweh is the largest of 12 Palestinian camps in Lebanon, hosting around 80,000 of the approximately 250,000 Palestinian refugees in the country, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

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