The Lebanese caretaker government has sought security and diplomatic assurances of the safety of the country in wake of Saudi and Kuwaiti travel warnings.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati tasked Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi with assuring Arab countries and their citizens that the necessary measures have been taken to ensure safety and security.
Saudi Arabia called on its citizens to quickly leave Lebanese territory and to avoid approaching areas where there have been armed clashes, the Saudi embassy in Lebanon said in a statement late on Friday.
The embassy stressed "the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon," the statement added.
On Aug. 1, the United Kingdom also updated its travel advice for Lebanon, advising against "all but essential travel" to parts of Lebanon’s south near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh.
At least 13 people, most of them militants, were killed in fighting that broke out in the camp on July 29, security sources in the camp said.
Kuwait also issued an advisory early on Saturday calling on Kuwaitis in Lebanon to stay vigilant and avoid "areas of security disturbances.”
The Lebanese government scrambled to contain the fallout and avoid damage to the country’s most promising tourist season in 13 years.
After meeting with Bou Habib, Mawlawi and military and security officials, the government said the security situation was not a cause for alarm or panic.
Contacts to contain the situation in Ain el-Hilweh have “come a long way”, it added.
“Efforts are underway to prevent attempts at destabilizing security or harming citizens, residents or tourists,” it stated.
Mikati tasked Bou Habib with contacting “Arab brothers to assure them about the safety of their citizens in Lebanon.”
He called on Mawlawi to call the central security council to discuss the challenges facing Lebanon in wake of regional tensions and to take the necessary measures to preserve security throughout the country.
Meanwhile, Germany denied that it had advised its citizens against traveling to Lebanon.
