The Lebanese authorities continued their efforts to reaffirm their determination to tighten the security situation in the country, following warnings issued by the embassies of Arab countries to their nationals to avoid traveling to Lebanon.
Recent battles that took place in a Palestinian refugee camp prompted Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to call on their citizens to quickly leave Lebanese territory and avoid approaching areas of armed clashes.
On Aug. 1, the United Kingdom also updated its travel notice for Lebanon, advising against “all but essential travel” to parts of Lebanon’s south near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh.
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, said that the Kingdom’s decision “came as a result of the events of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.”
“Saudi Arabia has been and will be one of the biggest supporters of tourism in Lebanon, and it will prove this in the future if the Lebanese succeed in solving their crisis,” the ambassador told a delegation from the Renewal for Homeland Movement on Monday.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, for his part, noted that the security situation in Lebanon “does not warrant concern and panic.”
His comments came in response to Arab countries’ call on their citizens to leave Lebanese territory quickly.
Similarly, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said on Monday that the situation in the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon was under control.
“The atmosphere has calmed down, and security agencies continue to exert effort to arrest the perpetrators,” the minister told a press conference in Beirut.
He added: “There is no compromise on the application of the law,” stressing that Lebanon will not be used as a “platform for sending messages.”
