Lebanon seeks to reassure Gulf, Germany after travel warnings

Lebanon seeks to reassure Gulf, Germany after travel warnings

BEIRUT - Lebanon's caretaker premier Najib Mikati said on Saturday there was no cause for "concern or panic" about his country's security situation, after Germany and Gulf countries issued new travel warnings following outbreaks of violence.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Germany and Britain updated their travel warnings amid clashes between rival armed groups in the Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Lebanon's south.

In a statement, Mikati said he had spoken with his security chiefs and assessed that the situation "does not call for concern or panic". He said there had been "significant progress" in resolving the violence in Ain el-Hilweh, where at least 13 people have been killed in fighting.

The statement said foreign minister Abdullah Bou Habib had been tasked with reassuring Arab countries that their citizens were safe in Lebanon.

The Saudi embassy on Friday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon quickly and avoid areas where there have been armed clashes. Bahrain followed suit a day later and called on its citizens to leave the country, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The Saudi statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, stressed "the importance of adhering to the Saudi travel ban to Lebanon".

Kuwait on Saturday urged its nationals in Lebanon to stay