No Sri Lankans seriously affected by situation in Lebanon - MFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that no Sri Lankans have been seriously affected by the situation so far in Lebanon, which it described as volatile and constantly evolving.

Issuing an announcement on the safety of Sri Lankans in Lebanon on Thursday (3), it said the Sri Lankan Embassy in Beirut is maintaining constant contact with Sri Lankan Associations and individual Sri Lankans registered with the embassy. 

Ambassador Kapila Jayaweera and officers of the Sri Lanka Embassy are providing assistance to Sri Lankans as required, it said.

“Apart from a few Sri Lankans who have been stranded and for whom the Embassy has arranged shelter, no Sri Lankans have been seriously affected by the situation so far,” the ministry said.

On September 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel advisory instructing Sri Lankan nationals not to travel to Lebanon and Syria until further notice due to the current volatile situation in the region.

All Sri Lankans who are currently in Lebanon and Syria were strongly requested to be on alert and to take necessary precautions including restricting their outside movements and maintaining regular contacts with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Beirut and the Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka in Damascus. 

In recent weeks, the Israeli air force has struck hundreds of targets across Lebanon, including the eastern border area and the Bekaa Valley, areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of villages and towns in southern Lebanon that are north of a United Nations-declared buffer zone established after the 2006 war.

The warning issued Thursday signaled a possible broadening of Israel’s incursion into southern Lebanon, which until now has been confined to areas close to the border.

--With Agencies Inputs