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Beirut: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait advised their citizens in Lebanon to leave the country immediately on Saturday as Syria accused the United States of prolonging the political crisis in its neighbour by deploying a warship off the country's coast.
A government source in Beirut 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. One Saudi said he was told by the embassy that women and children in particular were advised to leave within 48 hours.
"Embassy officials confirmed that they were asking Saudi citizens to be vigilant while travelling in Lebanon or leave the country if possible," said the government official.
The source said the security situation in Lebanon - caught in a political deadlock over the election of its president - was the reason for the Saudi advisory. The US said on Thursday it deployed the USS Cole off the Lebanese coast because it was concerned about the political situation in Lebanon, provoking fierce criticism from Hezbollah and Syria.
Several Kuwaitis said they also received messages telling them to leave immediately. The source said he had no official information on that. There was conflicting news on whether the Kuwaiti embassy had issued any warnings.
In the first reaction by Syria to the deployment of the USS Cole, Foreign Minister Walid Al Mua'alem said force was not the answer to Lebanon's political problems.
"We have been saying that the United States was obstructing the political solution in Lebanon and the existence of this ship affirms this," Al Mua'alem said after meeting Amr Mousa, the secretary general of the Arab League.
"Those Lebanese who are betting on the US flexing its muscles will be disappointed. Washington cannot impose the solution it wants. The way out has to be based on a Lebanese consensus," Al Mua'alem told reporters. A US defence official said the warship would not be visible from the coast.
Hezbollah said the warship's deployment "prevents the Lebanese from agreement, hinders initiatives and incites groups against each other".
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