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The government has warned Kenyans against travelling in any of the war torn countries, as it moves to evacuate its citizens trapped in Lebanon.

With Middle East countries being a favourite destination for female labour migrants, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that there are about 26,000 registered Kenyans currently working in Lebanon.
A total of 35 Kenyans have so far been evacuated while another 7199 have already registered for evacuation. An estimated 30 Kenyans are expected home over the weekend.

“The Government of Kenya is expediting the evacuation of Kenyans from Lebanon, which is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to the escalating conflict in the region,” Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said.

He went on: “This follows months of sustained calls to Kenyans in Lebanon to voluntarily register themselves if they wish to be evacuated. We are expecting the fourth and fifth batch of Kenyans evacuated from Lebanon to arrive in Kenya this weekend.”

Evacuation process
Mudavadi, who is also the Prime Cabinet Secretary said that the evacuation process has been slow and cumbersome due to stringent clearance requirements from the Lebanese authorities and limited flight options, with only one airline currently operating flights into Beirut.

“Kenya citizens who are still in Lebanon will be evacuated through the sea to a safe country before being airlifted into the country,” he stated.

To expedite this process, the PCS said a multi-agency team from Kenya joined by officials from our Embassy in Kuwait has been dispatched to assist the Honorary Consul to coordinate the activities.

“The Government is also aware of the potential for a larger conflict in the Middle East and has requested all Kenyan ambassadors in the region to conduct a swift registration exercise of Kenyans in their jurisdiction,” Mudavadi directed.

The move aims to ascertain the number of Kenyans in these countries, because many do not go through regular channels and they do not register with our nearest mission as required.