Move comes amid diplomatic crisis between Gulf countries, Lebanon
Bahrain on Tuesday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon “immediately” amid a diplomatic crisis over criticism of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.
“We call on all citizens present in the Lebanese Republic to leave immediately, given the tense situation there,” the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The call came a few days after Bahrain recalled its ambassador from Lebanon in response to Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi’s criticism of the Saudi military role in Yemen.
The ministry reiterated its previous warning against travelling to Lebanon “in order to prevent citizens from being exposed to any risks and to ensure their safety.”
A similar move was taken by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday, which called on its nationals to leave Lebanon “as soon as possible.”
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Kordahi has been under fire from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies over his critical comments of the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen in a televised interview said to have been recorded before he took his post in the new Cabinet headed by Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
On Saturday, three former Lebanese prime ministers called on Kordahi to resign to help resolve the diplomatic crisis with the Gulf nations.
Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation and caused one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises.
According to a report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain calls on all citizens present in the Lebanese Republic to leave immediately, given the tense situation there, which requires prudence and prudence,” the ministry wrote in a statement amid a serious diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia..
And to confirm the previous declarations which stipulated “not to go to the Lebanese Republic, in order to avoid that the citizens are exposed to risks and to ensure their safety”, added the ministry, taken again by the agency of Bahraini official press.
The diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, which stems from a declaration against the military intervention of Riyadh in Yemen by the Lebanese Minister of Information (while he was not yet appointed to the government, editor’s note ), angered Saudi Arabia.
This crisis could not be appeased immediately, it even spread to other nearby states, the allies of the Wahhabi kingdom. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait have recalled their ambassador to Beirut, but the order to leave the territory remains one of the toughest measures decided so far.
This situation causes yet another difficulty for Lebanon, already plunged into a serious economic and political crisis. While Lebanon relies on aid from Saudi Arabia, it appears to be in jeopardy given the situation.
Saudi Arabia blames Lebanon for its lack of control over a political party, Hezbollah, of Shiite Islamist inspiration, financed and armed by Iran, enemy of the Wahhabi kingdom, and even the country which finances the Houthi rebels in Yemen against the elected government.
Bahrain had already called on its nationals to leave the country in the same way in 2017, when Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation. Manama considers Hezobollah to be a terrorist organization.
