Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said plans are on standby to evacuate Nigerians if the conflict in the Middle East gets out of hand.
According to a statement made available to the media Saturday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Ambassador Eche Abu-Obe, the federal government has set up machinery for emergency evacuation of Nigerians in Lebanon.
“Further to the deteriorating situation in Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, the Federal Government has commenced preparation for evacuation of Nigerians in Lebanon back to Nigeria. The Government of Nigeria has taken measures to ensure the protection and safety of Nigerian nationals in the country.
“The Embassy of Nigeria in Lebanon issued regular advisories to the community with safety instructions and in August 2024 advised Nigerian nationals to strongly consider voluntary evacuation while the options of commercial flights remained available.
“Nigerian nationals in the South of Lebanon have also been evacuated to Beirut and other safer areas in collaboration with the leadership of the Nigerian community. It is pertinent to mention that no Nigerian life has been lost since the beginning of the conflict.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to reassure Nigerians that the Federal Government is engaging with relevant stakeholders and remains committed to the protection and safety of Nigerian nationals, as Government is making preparations to evacuate them back home.”
Meanwhile Israel has expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, hitting Beirut’s southern suburbs with 12 air strikes and striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in northern Lebanon for the first time.
The attack on the Beddawi refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli killed an official with Hamas’s military wing, along with his wife and two young daughters, the Palesitnian militant group said in a statement. Tripoli is much farther north than the majority of Israel’s strikes, which have been concentrated in southern Lebanon and Beirut.
Israel has killed several Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Israel-Hamas war began in October last year, in addition to most of the top leadership of Hezbollah.
At least six people were killed in more than a dozen Israeli air strikes overnight and into Saturday, according to National News Agency, Lebanon’s official news agency.
Some 1,400 Lebanese, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, have been killed and some 1.2 million driven from their homes since Israel escalated its strikes in late September aiming to cripple Hezbollah and push it away from the countries’ shared border.
