BEIRUT (Agencies)
Saudi Arabia has advised its citizens in Lebanon, especially families living there, to leave the country immediately due to the security situation, Al Arabiya has learned, while Kuwait has made no such move, despite reports to the contrary.
The Saudi embassy urged its nationals to exercise caution in their movements or to leave Lebanon at the earliest opportunity, sending a text message with the advice to Saudi nationals living there, Al Arabiya’s Beirut correspondent reported.
The United States said on Thursday it deployed the USS Cole off the Lebanese coast because it was concerned about the political deadlock in Lebanon, provoking criticism from Hezbollah and Syria.
Earlier reports said Kuwaiti nationals were also advised to leave the Mediterranean country immediately, but this was later found to be inaccurate.
Last month Saudi Arabia issued an advisory urging its citizens not to travel to Lebanon because of deteriorating political and security conditions. Kuwait and Bahrain followed with similar calls.
Saudi Arabia is a major supporter of the government in Lebanon which has been locked in a 15-month-old political standoff with an opposition led by Iranian-and-Syrian backed Hezbollah.
Tension in the region has also increased after the assassination of a Hezbollah commander in the Syrian capital Damascus last month. Hezbollah said Israel was behind the killing of Imad Mughniyah. |
