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Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has given an update on the evacuation exercise of Kenyans stuck in Lebanon.

The government moved to evacuate citizens stuck in the Middle East country when the war between Israel and Hezbollah began. Mudavadi has said 300 Kenyans have been evacuated and no casualties have been reported.

“Since the onset of the conflict, Kenya has successfully facilitated the evacuation of over 300 of its citizens, with no casualties reported among our nationals. The evacuation efforts remain ongoing to ensure the safety of all Kenyans in the region,” Mudavadi, the acting Interior Cabinet Secretary, said.

Peace deal

Israel and the militant side Hezbollah have entered into a ceasefire deal, and Mudavadi says Kenya welcomes the move.

“Kenya welcomes the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which was agreed last night. The ceasefire paves the way for restoring normalcy between the two neighbouring countries of Israel and Lebanon, fostering stability and promoting peace and prosperity across the Middle East.

“We call upon leaders across the Middle East to embrace dialogue and prioritise peace and stability in the region,” the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS said.

The ceasefire deal went into effect on Wednesday; this helped pause the war that has been described as the deadliest in Lebanon in decades.

However, fighting is reported to have been ongoing, and the Israeli Prime Minister warned that the IDF would strike again if the Lebanese militant group violated the deal.

The deal is set to halt fighting for an initial two-month window, with plans for Israeli soldiers to withdraw and the Lebanese army to increase its presence in the country’s south.