AMN —
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon or avoid travelling there after Riyadh halted 4 billion dollars in aid to Lebanese security forces in response to hostile positions linked to Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.
The Saudi foreign ministry issued a statement yesterday calling on all citizens not to travel to Lebanon, for their safety, and asking citizens residing in Lebanon or visiting not to stay unless extremely necessary.
Announcing the aid halt on Friday, an official said the kingdom has noticed hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state. The UAE also banned its citizens from travelling to Lebanon and reduced its diplomatic presence in Beirut. Bahrain also urged citizens against travelling to Lebanon, and called on Bahrainis there already to leave quickly, according to a statement posted to state news.