Gulf Countries Issue Travel Warnings to Lebanon

Two Gulf countries have issued travel warnings to Lebanon after peaceful demonstrations against the country's trash crisis turned violent on Sunday.

Bahrain's foreign ministry renewed its call on its citizens on Monday to avoid travel to Lebanon “out of its keenness on their security and safety.”

The ministry said in its statement that the travel warning came “in view of the unstable security situation” in Lebanon.

It urged “all Bahraini citizens to leave Lebanon immediately.”

On Sunday night, the Kuwaiti Embassy called on its nationals to remain vigilant for their safety at all times.

“Under the current critical circumstances, the Kuwaiti nationals in Lebanon are advised to cancel any unnecessary plans and leave,” it said in a statement.

“The Kuwaitis who plan to travel to Lebanon have to wait for further notice,” it said.

The embassy also hoped that stability and security will be restored in Lebanon as soon as possible.

Scores of demonstrators and policemen were injured in downtown Beirut for a second night on Sunday when thugs began fighting with security forces, trying to tear down a barbed wire fence separating the crowds from the Grand Serail.

At first, the protest began peacefully, with thousands angered over Lebanon's political deadlock protesting. 

The demonstrators take root in the garbage piling up on the streets after the capital's main landfill in Naameh was closed a month ago. 

G.K.

D.A.