The logo of the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that it is closely monitoring the developments in Niger, West Africa, where a coup d'état took place last week.
The ministry called on Lebanese citizens in Niger to contact the Lebanese Embassy in Abidjan, in neighboring Côte d'Ivoire, if they wish to be repatriated.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ... has established a crisis cell, initiated contacts with friendly countries that could offer assistance to the Lebanese diaspora, and advises Lebanese individuals in Niger to take precautions," the ministry said in a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency.
Many Lebanese individuals work in African countries, and some have been long-settled there with their families.
When contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not available to provide information about the number of Lebanese citizens currently in Niger.
"We invite all Lebanese individuals in Niger who wish to register their names, in case the possibility of assisting them in secure repatriation arises, to contact the Lebanese Embassy in Abidjan at the following number: +2250507230834," the Ministry said.
Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown last Wednesday and detained by the coup leaders. Since then, the country has been in chaos.
The history of Niger has been marked by coups d'état: Since its independence from this former French colony in 1960, there have been four— the first in April 1974 against President Diori Hamani and the latest in February 2010 that ousted President Mamadou Tandja, not to mention numerous attempted coups.