Vietnamese Embassy continues to advise citizens to leave Lebanon

For citizens who cannot leave Lebanon for reasons of force majeure, the Embassy recommends that they absolutely do not go near the area south of Beirut, the area near the border with Israel and Syria.

People evacuated from Lebanon move through the Jdeidat Yabous border crossing with Syria on September 24, 2024. (Photo: THX/TTXVN)

After issuing an urgent warning on September 23, the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and Lebanon on September 26 continued to recommend that Vietnamese citizens living and working in Lebanon leave the country, amid tensions between the Israeli army and the Hezbollah Movement that are at risk of escalating into a full-scale conflict in the Middle East. According to a VNA correspondent in the Middle East and North Africa, the Embassy also recommended that Vietnamese citizens planning to go to Lebanon should postpone/cancel their trips. For Vietnamese citizens who cannot leave Lebanon due to force majeure, in the latest urgent notice, the Embassy reiterated its request that people should be vigilant, monitor the situation on local media, minimize gatherings in crowded places and absolutely avoid going near the southern area of the capital Beirut, the southern area near the border with Israel and the northern and eastern areas (Beeka Valley) near the border with Syria. According to information from the Embassy, there are currently 13 Vietnamese citizens living and working in Lebanon, and the Vietnamese community in Lebanon is still safe. The Embassy recommends that people find temporary shelter in safer areas and have plans to stock up on food and medicine in case of a bad situation. In case of emergency, the Embassy recommends that people immediately contact the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and Lebanon via hotline: +20 102 613 9869, the Honorary Consulate of Vietnam in Lebanon: +961 70 229 300, or the Citizen Protection Hotline +84 981 84 84 84. Currently, many airlines have suspended flights to Beirut such as Flydubai, Etihad, Qatar Airways, EgyptAir, Lufthansa, British Airways... Many countries such as the US, Australia, UK, Italy, Egypt have asked their citizens to leave immediately or not to travel to Lebanon. Arab countries, the US and the European Union (EU) on September 25 issued a joint statement calling for a "temporary ceasefire" in Lebanon. The joint statement was endorsed by the EU, the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. The statement was issued after Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon in recent days, threatening to push the Middle East into a full-blown conflict.