[Kuwait] 100 expatriates and their families asked to leave

On November 16 Kuwait asked some 100 expatriates - the majority Lebanese citizens - to leave the country with their families as soon as their residency permits expire, Middle East Monitor reports.

According to Al-Qabas newspaper reporting, the State Security Authority has added the names of the expats to 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 those asked to leave 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 said.

"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.

Information from the sources says senior security leaders have issued "explicit and clear" instructions not to show leniency or respond to any pressures or "intermediaries" requests to pardon any of the black listed people.

This follows news that Kuwait has withdrawn its diplomat from Lebanon and expelled Beirut's envoy from the Gulf state after footage from August showed George Kordahi - who was appointed information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".

Source: Middle East Monitor

(Link and quotes via original reporting)

On November 16 Kuwait asked some 100 expatriates - the majority Lebanese citizens - to leave the country with their families as soon as their residency permits expire, Middle East Monitor reports.

According to Al-Qabas newspaper reporting, the State Security Authority has added the names of the expats to 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 those asked to leave 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 said.

"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.

Information from the sources says senior security leaders have issued "explicit and clear" instructions not to show leniency or respond to any pressures or "intermediaries" requests to pardon any of the black listed people.

This follows news that Kuwait has withdrawn its diplomat from 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".

Source: Middle East Monitor

(Link and quotes via original reporting)