Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Lebanon urged its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible, and to avoid approaching areas where there have been armed clashes.
In a statement posted late Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter, the embassy warned Saudi citizens not to visit areas where armed clashes were taking place, the official Saudi news agency SPA reported.
The Saudi diplomatic mission also stressed "the importance of respecting the travel ban on Lebanon." It was followed Saturday by Kuwait, which issued an advisory calling on Kuwaitis in Lebanon to remain vigilant and avoid "areas of security unrest," though without asking them to leave the country.
Deadly armed clashes have occurred in recent days in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, located on the outskirts of Saida, South Lebanon.
Since July 29, at least 13 people have been killed and more than 60 injured in clashes between the mainstream faction Fatah and a hardline group in the camp, the largest of 12 Palestinian camps established in Lebanon in 1948 after Israel was created.
Fatah has accused the armed groups Jund al-Sham and al-Shabab al-Muslim of gunning down a Fatah military general, Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi, in the camp.
According to Maher Shabaita, the head of Fatah in the Sidon region, Palestinian factions in the camp have formed an investigative committee to find out who was responsible for al-Armoushi’s killing and will hand them over to the Lebanese judiciary for trial.
A ceasefire between the Palestinian groups in the camp was announced on July 31 under the mediation of Lebanese parties.
Saudi Arabia's request is not just related to the fighting in Ain al-Hilweh. Many believe it could be linked to a possible Israel-Saudi agreement."
"If an Israel-Saudi agreement is signed, Riyadh will certainly fear the reaction against its citizens in a country like Lebanon."
