By Maha El Dahan and Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s foreign minister said Saudi Arabia was dictating impossible terms by asking the government to reduce the role of Iran-backed Hezbollah, adding Beirut s row with Riyadh could be resolved if the kingdom agreed to a dialogue with the new Lebanese cabinet. If they just want Hezbollah s head on a plate, we can t give them that, the minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. Lebanon is facing its worst rift yet with Gulf Arab states, spurred by a minister s critical comments about the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen that described the war there as futile. Saudi Arabia and some Gulf Arab allies have reacted angrily to the remarks made by the information minister in an interview last week, which he d filmed before taking up his position in cabinet. Riyadh expelled Lebanon s ambassador, banned all imports from Lebanon and recalled its envoy for consultations. Kuwait and Bahrain followed suit by expelling
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Gunfire in Beirut killed at least five Lebanese Shi'ites in what authorities said was an attack on protesters who were going to take part in a demonstration called by Hezbollah to demand the removal of the judge investigating last year's port explosion.
BEIRUT, Oct 14 (Reuters) - At least two people were killed in Beirut on Thursday when heavy gunfire targeted supporters of the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, as they headed to a protest demanding the removal of the judge investigating last year's explosion at the city's port.
BEIRUT (Reuters) -At least six Shi ites were shot dead in Beirut on Thursday, in an attack on protesters who were heading for a demonstration called by Hezbollah to demand the
BEIRUT (Reuters) -At least six Shi ites were shot dead in Beirut on Thursday, in an attack on protesters who were heading for a demonstration called by Hezbollah to demand the removal of the judge investigating the explosion that ripped through the city s port last year. The Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally, the Shi ite Amal Movement, accused the Lebanese Forces (LF), a Christian party that has close ties to Saudi Arabia, of mounting the attack, which took place on a frontline of the 1975-90 civil war. The shooting marks the worst civil violence in Beirut since 2008, and highlights a deepening crisis over the probe into the catastrophic August 2020 explosion that is undermining government efforts to tackle one of the most dramatic economic meltdowns in history. LF leader Samir Geagea, whose group had a powerful militia in the war, condemned the shooting and said it was the result of uncontrolled weapons in society, saying civil peace must be preserved. In scenes reminiscent of the wa