Why are UAE, Saudi, other Gulf countries issuing Lebanon travel warnings?
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and also Germany and the United Kingdom issued similar travel warnings over the fighting that began July 29 between Fatah and hard-line Islamists at Lebanon's Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.
DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the Gulf and some European countries in issuing warnings and restrictions for citizen travel to Lebanon on Sunday, amid ongoing clashes at the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon where at least 13 were killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and also Germany and the United Kingdom issued similar travel warnings over the fighting that began July 29 between rival Palestinian factions, mainly Fatah and hard-line Islamists.
As Al-Monitor's Beatrice Farhat reported from Beirut, the violence was instigated after a Fatah member shot at Islamist militant Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil survived the attack with injuries. He is a member of al-Shabab al-Muslim faction, according to Palestinian sources from inside the camp, and is wanted by Lebanese authorities.
What happened: The UAE stressed its previously established travel ban to Lebanon for its citizens on Sunday, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
