Director of protection of Indonesian citizens and legal entities at the ministry, Judha Nugraha, said that 25 Indonesians evacuated in the first three waves in August have arrived safely in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, 40 other Indonesian citizens evacuated in two waves this month have been confirmed to have left Lebanon, he added.
"Currently, 20 Indonesian citizens (from the fourth evacuation wave) have safely arrived in Amman. Meanwhile, the fifth wave consisting of 20 Indonesian citizens and 1 Lebanese citizen have safely arrived in Damascus and are heading to Amman," he informed during a press briefing on Friday.
According to him, the ministry decided to use the land route to Amman, Jordan, via Damascus, Syria, for the two waves of evacuation in October to find a safer point for Indonesian citizens to return to Indonesia.
With the evacuation of 65 Indonesian nationals, the number of Indonesians currently staying in Lebanon has reached 116, he informed, adding 83 of them are in Beirut.
Further, four Indonesians have chosen to stay in South Lebanon even though conditions in the area are increasingly dangerous, he said.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy in Beirut have also intensified communication with Indonesian nationals in Lebanon and asked them to evacuate immediately for their own safety, Nugraha added.
His party has held two virtual meetings with Indonesian citizens in Lebanon. The last meeting took place on September 29, 2024.
"We conveyed an estimation of the future situation and we emphasized it is the time to leave Lebanon," he said.
After the meeting, the number of Indonesian citizens willing to participate in the evacuation increased from 6 previously to 40.
"They were the ones who were then evacuated this October," he informed.
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Translator: Nabil Ihsan, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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