Shea bids Lebanese leaders farewell as embassy staff return

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea has met with a number of Lebanese leaders on the occasion of the end of her diplomatic service in Lebanon.

On Wednesday, the ambassador met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. And on Thursday, Shea met with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.

According to reports, Shea will depart Lebanon on December 29 and will be replaced by the newly-appointed ambassador, Lisa Johnson, who will act as charge d’affaires pending the election of a new Lebanese president to whom she can submit her credentials.

The U.S. Embassy had on Tuesday announced a return to “normal staffing and presence,” which stands for a return of “U.S. government employees and their family members” to Lebanon after they were allowed to leave with the escalation of clashes on Lebanon’s border and in the Gaza Strip.

The embassy however noted that “the Travel Advisory level for Lebanon remains at Level 4, recommending that U.S. citizens do not travel to Lebanon.”

Moreover, “American Citizen Services has resumed issuing full-validity passports and is offering all routine services,” the embassy said. It also resumed “regular nonimmigrant and immigrant visa processing.”