The Bahraini government decided to “permanently expel” dozens of Lebanese people residing in the island kingdom

The Bahraini government decided to “permanently expel” dozens of Lebanese people residing in the island kingdom, an unnamed source told As-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper’s Tuesday edition.

“The situation of the Lebanese nationals in Bahrain is not comforting,” the source said. Bahrain has expelled 16 Lebanese expatriates.

The Lebanese nationals have been residing and working in Bahrain for a long time, the source said, adding that the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Ministry is contacting Manama to prevent the expulsion of more Lebanese nationals from the country. “[Manama] did not give any justification for the decision.”

As-Safir newspaper reported that Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Shami on Tuesday will call his Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa, to inquire about Manama’s move.

The daily quoted unnamed people who were ordered out of Bahrain as saying that they were asked by the Bahraini emigration department to leave the country within a 48-hour period.

Lebanese Ambassador to Bahrain Aziz Qazzi said on Tuesday that he is making calls to resolve the issue. He added to LBC television that talks are ongoing with Bahraini authorities to not expand the scope of Bahrain’s expulsion of Lebanese.