Saudi Arabia, Bahrain Call for Citizens To Leave Lebanon After Clashes in Palestinian Camp
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia both urged their citizens to leave Lebanon within hours of each other over the weekend, following four days of violent clashes in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Bahrain called on citizens to leave “for their own safety” on Saturday, while the Saudi embassy in Beirut encouraged its citizens to avoid areas with “armed conflict” and to swiftly depart from the country, according to a statement posted late Friday night on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The fighting broke out in the Ain al-Hilweh camp near the southern city of Sidon between members of Fatah and members of other Islamic groups, after Fatah accused the groups of killing Fatah military general Abu Ashraf al Armoushi in the camp on June 30. The clashes have left 13 dead, dozens wounded and thousands displaced.
On Thursday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati released a statement calling for an end to the spiraling violence, calling it a “flagrant violation of Lebanese sovereignty” and threatening to send in Lebanese troops.
The statement continued that it was unacceptable for the Palestinians to “terrorize the Lebanese, especially the people of the south who have embraced the Palestinians for many years.”
The camps in Lebanon’s south are ruled by Palestinian factions and generally enjoy autonomy from the Lebanese army. Palestinian refugees and their descendants are not entitled to Lebanese citizenship.
