Saudi Arabia has advised its citizens in Lebanon, especially families living there, to leave the country immediately due to the security situation, several Saudi nationals said on Saturday.
The United States had said on Thursday it deployed the USS Cole off the Lebanese coast because it was concerned about the political deadlock in Lebanon, provoking criticism from Hezbollah and Syria. There was no immediate comment from the Saudi embassy in Lebanon.
The nationals said they had received a text message with the advice and a hotline number was also provided. One citizen called the number to verify the information in the text message and was told it was true. In another report, Kuwait advised its nationals to leave Lebanon due to the security situation, Kuwaiti citizens said on Saturday. Lebanese channel LBC said the Kuwaiti embassy had urged its citizens to leave the country "as soon as possible".