BEIRUT: The Lebanese Embassy in Yemen repatriated 39 Lebanese nationals from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa Saturday, and efforts are underway to secure the evacuation of the 20 who remain, Lebanon’s charge d’affaires in the country told The Daily Star.
Thirty-nine Lebanese nationals flew out of Sanaa heading for Djibouti, Hadi Jaber said. The evacuation came after a third night of airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition trying to stem the advance of Iranian-backed Houthi fighters, who control large swaths of the country.
“The Lebanese Embassy was the only diplomatic mission to evacuate its residents through the United Nations,” Jaber said, referring to an arrangement that also saw the withdrawal of most of the U.N.’s 100 international staff.
The Lebanese Embassy struck a deal with the U.N., who agreed to evacuate Lebanese expats in return for a commitment to cover the airfare. The cost will be divided among the 39 expats who left the Yemeni capital Saturday, Jaber noted. The U.N. has yet to disclose the cost incurred as a result of the flight.
“We were not, and have yet to be, informed of how much the flight is going to cost, but we did it anyway because the security of our nationals is our top priority.”
Jaber said that a small private jet that was provided exclusively for Lebanese nationals “was the first plane to leave Sanaa Saturday.”
Despite Saturday’s evacuation, Jaber expressed concern for roughly 20 Lebanese expats who are still stuck in Yemen.
“There are 16 Lebanese nationals who were initially on Saturday’s evacuation list but changed their minds at the last minute, with the hope that the situation in Yemen would calm down,” Jaber said. But now they are seeking to return to Lebanon, and the embassy is looking to provide for their repatriation.
There are also four Lebanese nationals and two dependents currently stuck in Yemen’s port city of Aden, he added.
“They are attempting to flee the area by land, but there is also a possibility that they will be rescued by an Indian vessel that will arrive in the area Wednesday.”
Jaber said it was difficult to organize the evacuations because a number of Lebanese expats did not respond to rescue initiatives in time, while others refused to leave the war-torn country out of concern for their livelihoods and property.
Saturday’s evacuees were all notified of the initiative via a WhatsApp group, set up by the embassy three months prior to the start of the Saudi-led intervention.
“We have been [making efforts to] contact Lebanese residents ever since the situation in Yemen started deteriorating,” Jaber said. “We predicted that security concerns could become graver.”
The embassy issued alerts, provided security updates and offered guidance to nationals, the envoy said. When reports emerged last month of a Houthi-advance on Aden, he contacted expats residing in the city, urging them to return to the capital where arrangements for evacuation could be made.
“We even offered to let them stay in the embassy, but they didn’t listen,” Jaber said.
In addition to Lebanese expats, he said the embassy arranged for the evacuation of three French nationals, a German national and a number of Egyptians, Jordanians and Syrians.
The exact number of Lebanese expats residing in Yemen, which is estimated at roughly 60 nationals, remains unknown.
Jaber complained that several nationals have not contacted the embassy and therefore there exact number couldn’t be determined.
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