Following the country’s ongoing crisis, the Federal Government has initiated plans to evacuate Nigerians who are willing to return home from Lebanon.
The condition of Nigerians in Lebanon and the plans for a successful evacuation exercise were the subject of discussion at a multi-stakeholder meeting held in Abuja.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) revealed this in a statement on Friday.
The agency stated that it is coordinating the evacuation, which began with the citizens’ mobilization and will proceed immediately with all necessary steps to return them home.
It said: “The leader of the Nigerian community, through a telephone conversation, acknowledged the support by the Nigerian Mission in Lebanon, especially in their safe movement out of high-risk areas, adding that no Nigerian life has been lost so far.
“In view of the planned voluntary evacuation, those Nigerians willing to be evacuated back home are advised to report to the Embassy in Beirut, where they will be profiled for the airlift.”
Persecondnews recalls that Lebanon suffered over 1,000 deaths and 6,352 injuries in September 2024 due to intensified cross-border attacks, as reported by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
According to the IOM, this brings the total to more than 1,800 killed and 9,100 injured since October 2023.
As of September 30, 2024, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix had identified 346,209 internally displaced persons, including over 31,000 families (137,000 individuals) living in 820 collective shelters.
Additionally, more than 175,000 Lebanese and Syrians have fled to Syria.
Leave a comment