UAE Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon, Avoid Traveling to the Country

The United Arab Emirates urged its citizens on Saturday to refrain from traveling to Lebanon citing the country's “shaky security situation” as a cause.

"Emiratis currently present in Lebanon must leave the country immediately,” UAE's charge d'affaires Hamad Mohammed al-Junaibi said.

He called on UAE's citizens to contact their embassy in Lebanon on 0096118570000 or reach out to their country's Foreign Ministry on 024449600 “for coordination and to facilitate their departure.”

“The warning was issued out of the (foreign) ministry's keenness on its citizens' safety while abroad,” a statement released by the charge d'affaires explained.

"We urge citizens to abide by this warning until another notice is released, and to take precautions,” al-Junaibi stressed.

The warning comes one day after a deadly explosion rocked the Bekaa's region of Dahr al-Baydar on Friday, killing Chief Warrant Officer Mahmoud Jamaleddine and wounding 33 others.

The attack also coincided with a series of raids in the Lebanese capital following reports of a plot to target security posts.

The last explosion to hit Lebanon occurred on March 29, when a suicide bomber in an explosives-laden car targeted a Lebanese army checkpoint near the Syrian border, killing three people. Earlier in the year, a series of car bombs struck Shiite areas across Lebanon, killing and wounding hundreds of people.

The French embassy in Lebanon on Friday also advised its resident nationals to limit their movements on Lebanese territories.

S.D.B.