Riyadh Advises Citizens Not to Travel to Lebanon Amid Measures by Arab, Foreign Embassies

The Saudi Foreign Ministry advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon at this stage as Ambassador Ali Awad Assiri denied to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the embassy had asked Saudis to leave the country as soon as possible.

“Given the situation in Lebanon, the Foreign Ministry advises Saudi citizens not to travel to Lebanon at this stage and until calm and stability” are restored, said a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

“What we did is to send them (Saudis) messages urging them not to go to public places where there are mass gatherings,” Assiri said.

We also told them “to limit unnecessary movements,” the ambassador told al-Hayat.

Meanwhile, an informed diplomatic source told al-Liwaa daily that several Arab and Foreign embassies asked their citizens to be cautious during their presence in Lebanon.

Some Arab embassies even took quick measures to help VIPs leave Lebanon in the next few days, the source said.

Al-Liwaa also reported that it received a copy of an advisory issued by the U.S. embassy. It claimed that the document advises U.S. citizens to be cautious and avoid peaceful gatherings that could turn violent.