Kuwait asks 100 expatriates, mostly Lebanese, to leave

Kuwait yesterday asked some 100 expatriates, mostly Lebanese citizens, to leave the country with their families as soon as their residency permits expire, Al-Qabas newspaper reported.

The paper said the State Security Authority had put the names of the expatriates on the black list of people who are prevented from renewing their residency permits once they expire.

The paper cited security sources as saying that the majority of them are Lebanese, while the remaining are from Iran, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt.

“Some of these Lebanese or their first and second-degree relatives are suspected of belonging to Hezbollah. Among them are some who were convicted of money laundering and sensitive security issues,” the sources added.

“Kuwait’s security is a red line, and no person who represents any kind of threat to homeland security will be allowed to stay on its land,” the sources added.

According to the sources, senior security leaders have issued “explicit and clear” instructions not to be lenient in that file, or respond to any pressures or “intermediaries” to pardon any of the black listed persons.

This comes as Kuwait has withdrawn its diplomat from the Lebanon and expelled Beirut’s envoy from the Gulf state after footage from August showed George Kordahi – who was appointed information minister the following month – describing the war against Yemen as one of aggression by the Saudi-led coalition, branding the conflict as “futile” and said the Houthis were acting in “self-defence”.

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