The government has discouraged Kenyans from travelling to countries experiencing conflict, particularly in the Middle East.
Speaking Thursday while issuing an update on the fate of Kenyans stuck in Lebanon, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said the situation in the region is dire following the Israel-Hamas war that has drawn in Lebanon.
“They should not gamble, it’s not a game out there,” Mudavadi said.
He urged the media to disseminate information that offers guidance to those wishing to travel on which regions they should be cautious about.
“If there’s a conflict and we know it, educate Kenyans to be cautious and not make trips to these areas until the situation has completely calmed down because they could land into difficulty.”
Mudavadi, nonetheless, assured the country that the government is monitoring the situation in the Middle East and is committed to protecting Kenyans caught up in demanding situations across the world.
The Prime CS revealed that so far, 7,119 Kenyans have registered to be evacuated from Lebanon as the conflict between the country and Israel continues to escalate.
He said the fourth and fifth batches of the evacuees will arrive in the country over the weekend even as he stated that flights into and out of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, are limited.
“And when we talk of a fourth and fifth batch it depends on how many seats we can get at any one time for them to come. It might be in lots of 10 or 20, perhaps up to 30 if we are lucky; remember we are competing also with other nations that are also undertaking a similar exercise,” Mudavadi said.
He said a multi-agency team from Kenya is working with other officials from the Kenyan embassy in Kuwait to coordinate the evacuation.
Mudavadi said the exercise is extremely expensive owing to the prohibitive insurance coverage airlines have to pay to venture into the highly risky area.
“Treasury has committed to support through an initial Sh100 million to assist in this exercise. We are also trying to look at other means that could be deployed,” Mudavadi said.
“It’s a very expensive undertaking [and] risky but we will do our best within our means to continue giving support to Kenyans and hopefully we shall not suffer any casualties.”
The Prime CS added that in the face of possible escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, Kenyan ambassadors in the region have been asked to swiftly register all Kenyans within their jurisdictions.
He said the exercise is aimed at ascertaining the exact number of Kenyans residing in Middle Eastern countries considering many make it there irregularly and never register with Kenyan missions in the host countries.
“This is one of the dilemmas, Kenyans go but they don’t indicate where they are going; they use their channels and sometimes we have to fish for them to come forward.”
By steshanews.co.ke