Govt task force mobilised as Namibians caught in Middle East crossfire

Namibia’s government says a number of its citizens remain stuck in parts of the Middle East following the recent strikes on Iran, with authorities monitoring the situation closely and exploring ways to bring them home safely.

Speaking during a media briefing in Windhoek yesterday, international relations minister Selma Ashipala-Musavyi said government has identified several Namibians currently in the Gulf region and Israel.

“We have a few in Bahrain, in Oman and, I think, two in Israel,” she said. “The reason why we know about those numbers, which are also fluctuating, is because following the attack on Iran we directed our embassy in Cairo, which is concurrently accredited to the Gulf countries, to issue an advisory notice with an email and phone number where our nationals can contact them.”

Ashipala-Musavyi said Namibia has established an inter-ministerial task force to monitor the situation and coordinate possible evacuation plans should the situation deteriorate.

“We are working with our neighbouring countries, because some of them have thousands of people in the Gulf states, for us to work together and to see how we can evacuate our people.”

The minister said government is in daily contact with some of the Namibians in the region.

“They have actually organised themselves where they have a lead person in all those countries,” she explained. “It’s a situation that we are taking very seriously.”

Into war

The latest tensions in the region escalated last Friday, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on several targets in Iran, marking a major escalation in the Middle East conflict. The aerial attacks were followed by retaliatory missile and drone strikes across parts of the Gulf region, raising security fears and prompting governments to tighten airspace controls.

In response to the escalating military activity, several countries, including Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, temporarily closed or restricted their airspace, while major transit hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi airports suspended or scaled down flights as a precaution. 

The shutdown disrupted one of the world’s busiest international aviation corridors, forcing airlines to cancel or reroute thousands of flights and leaving travellers from around the world stranded.

Stay in touch

Namibians currently in the Middle East region fall into three categories.

“It’s also important to remember that we are talking about three categories of people,” Ashipala-Musavyi explained. “There are those who live there, there are those who work there and have work permits, and there are those who unfortunately were just caught in the crossfire because they went there for vacation and are now caught in this situation.”

Government has urged Namibians in the affected countries to remain in contact with Namibian diplomatic missions and to follow safety advisories issued by local authorities.

Destructive behaviour

Ashipala-Musavyi also used the briefing to reiterate Namibia’s support for multilateral diplomacy in addressing global conflicts, warning that unilateral military action often worsens already fragile geopolitical situations. “Unilateral action is very quick, but it is mostly destructive. As Namibians, we can draw from our own liberation struggle,” she said. 

The minister stressed that Namibia continues to believe strongly in international cooperation through institutions such as the United Nations. 

“It is through the General Assembly that Namibians have a voice. Dialogue and collective decision-making offer more sustainable solutions to international disputes,” she noted. She added, “While diplomacy can take time, agreements reached through multilateral processes tend to provide longer-lasting stability and peace.”

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