Saudi advises nationals to leave Lebanon

By Nadim Ladki

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has advised its citizens in Lebanon, especially families living there, to leave immediately due to the security situation, a Lebanese government source said on Saturday.

The source said the Lebanese government had confirmed the news with the Saudi embassy after several Saudi nationals said they received a text message with the advice.

Many countries already advise their nationals against non-essential travel to Lebanon, but it was unclear why Saudi Arabia had upgraded its own travel warning into one urging its citizens to leave immediately.

Saudi diplomats were not available for comment.

Tensions have increased after the United States said on Thursday it had deployed the USS Cole off the Lebanese coast because it was concerned about the political deadlock in Lebanon.

They have also been fuelled by the assassination in Damascus last month of a commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah group. Hezbollah said Israel was behind the killing of Imad Moughniyah. Israel has rejected the charge.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia is a major supporter of the Sunni-led government in Lebanon which has been locked in a 15-month-old political standoff with an opposition led by Iranian-and-Syrian backed Hezbollah.

The crisis has left Lebanon without a president since November and the deadlock has threatened to disintegrate into sectarian violence and continues to mar inter-Arab relations in the run-up to an Arab league summit in Syria on March 29-30.