UAE urges citizens to leave Lebanon

Shafaq News/ The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation has called on Emirates' citizens in Lebanon to return to their homeland.

The ministry used its Twitter account to relay the message in Arabic.

In a statement on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation website, officials said the decision was made "in view of the current events and based on the decision to prevent UAE citizens from travelling to Lebanon".

Khalid Belhoul, undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, said the ministry "had taken all necessary measures to facilitate the return of its citizens from Lebanon", the statement said.

The move comes after the UAE withdrew its diplomats from Beirut on Saturday – the fourth Gulf nation to do so in the past two days.

The measures have been introduced after the Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi's statements regarding the Saudi war on Yemen caused a diplomatic crisis with Gulf countries.

The UAE has already barred its citizens from travelling to Lebanon.