Bahrain urges citizens to leave Lebanon
Several Gulf states have taken action against Lebanon recently following comments by a Lebanese minister that were critical of the Saudi intervention in Yemen.
Bahrain urged its citizens today to leave Lebanon “immediately.”
The Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited in a statement “the situations there that require exercising caution."
The move was the latest development in the diplomatic crisis between Lebanon and several Gulf states. The issue began last week when an interview with Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi aired on Al Jazeera. In the interview, which was conducted in August, Kordahi criticized the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia ordered the Lebanese ambassador in Riyadh to leave, recalled their own ambassador in Beirut, and banned imports and travel to Lebanon. The United Arab Emirates then withdrew its diplomats from Lebanon and ordered its citizens to leave. Bahrain and Kuwait also then told the ambassadors of Lebanon to leave, with Kuwait likewise recalling its own ambassador in Beirut.
