The United Arab Emirates and Qatar's foreign ministries called on their citizens
on Saturday not to travel to Lebanon given the deteriorating security situation
there.
The UAE and Qatar also urged their citizens that are present in
Lebanon to return to their country.
The UAE asked its citizens in Lebanon to contact the country’s
embassy in Beirut on the number 009611857000 in case they want to stay there for imperative reasons.
In related news, the
Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens not to travel to
Lebanon, calling on those already there to return to their country.
Information made available to LBCI reported that the travel
ban to Lebanon will only be limited to the three members of the GCC, i.e.
Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain.
Lebanese governmental sources voiced, through LBCI, their
surprise over these measures especially that competent authorities are taking all
the necessary measures, and are managing to contain the “limited” security
incidents gradually. The sources kindly asked these three countries to
reconsider their decision.
In a statement to LBCI, Foreign Minister Adnan
Mansour hoped that Emirati officials back down on their decision given that the
situation in Lebanon does not require that the Emirati people avoid coming to
the country for “they have a special place in Lebanon, just like all Arab
brothers.”