Salam to Riyadh to Ease Tension over Remarks on its War in Yemen

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Prime Minister Tammam Salam is expected to head to Saudi Arabia in the upcoming few days amid a war of words between al-Mustaqbal movement and Hizbullah over Riyadh's offensive in Yemen against the Shiite Huthi rebels.

Sources said in comments published in al-Liwaa newspaper on Friday that Salam will hold talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Azizi and senior officials.

The sources added that talks will focus on the exceptional bilateral ties between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, in addition to the latest developments in the region, including the war in Yemen.

On Wednesday, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri emphasized his right to defend his country in the wake of the criticism against it over its military operation in Yemen, especially by Hizbullah.

Tensions recently flared between the Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah over Saudi airstrikes against the rebels.

The former has backed the campaign, while the latter has slammed it as blatant interference in the country's affairs.

A war of words soon ensued between the two sides, with movement chief MP Saad Hariri declaring Saudi Arabia's right to defend Arab interests against Iran, while Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the kingdom will suffer a defeat in its mission.

Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes in Yemen on March 25, announcing that it had put together a coalition of more than 10 countries, including five Gulf monarchies, for the military operation to defend Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansur Hadi's government against Huthi rebels.

It said that it will continue its operation Decisive Storm until Hadi is restored to power and the rebels, backed by Iran, are defeated.

H.K.

G.K.

Comments 2
Thumb -phoenix1 17 April 2015, 11:49

Try as we may, the repercussion of the war in Yemen are bound to cause ripple effects here in Lebanon. Normally a war in Yemen should be the least of our worries and basically for us Lebanese it would have been simply another conflict far from our country, but in light of another meddling by another Lebanese so called party of God, wanna be resistance now turned to Che Guevara's army of mercenaries fighting in every conflict of the region, we are assured of Yemen coming to our affairs. Eat with your family with your doors closed, and you shall eat well, but open the door and let the wolves in, and you shall have to think of your own life. It is a mad situation for Lebanon, that every now and then, we will have some leader from a Muslim sect who will look for an outside cause to bring over to Lebanon, we had in the old days Gamal Abdul Nasser, then Yasser Arafat, then Ayatollah Khomeiny, always a foreign cause for us to espouse, but so far very little concern for Lebanon, almost none.

Thumb -phoenix1 17 April 2015, 12:02

And by the looks of it, this Yemen thing might only get worse, for today, our dear Sayed Hassan whom lately has been suffering from an acute state of verbal diarrhea will deliver another one of his fiery speeches attacking everyone that voiced concern and criticism over his involvement in another war that is not ours. As usual, Sayed Hassan will remove the very foundations of the truth and replace it with his own version, and as usual Lebanon will once more be pushed further into an isolated corner. It is truly incredible how the majority of the people are being made more and more miserable because of one party that has now truly become blind, so I say to both Sayed Hassan and his so called party of God, what does it profit a man if he gained the whole world yet lost himself. (MATTHEW 16:26). In Lebanon HA has lost itself and apparently in the region too.