S/Arabia, UAE ban citizens from travelling to Lebanon

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon or avoid travelling there after Riyadh halted $4bn in aid to Lebanese security forces in response to “hostile” positions linked to Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah.
The Saudi foreign ministry issued a statement on Tuesday 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”. The statement urged citizens to contact the Saudi Embassy in Beirut.
Announcing the aid halt on Friday, an official said the kingdom had 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.
On Friday, the United Arab Emirates announced “full support” of Saudi’s review of its relations with Lebanon, blaming the country’s “failure to condemn Iran’s aggression” in the embassy incident.