Lebanese officials have demanded the return of Prime Minister Saad Hariri from Saudi Arabia. The head of the militant group Hezbollah said the Saudis had "declared war" on Lebanon by holding Hariri against his will.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H.Malla
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Lebanon's President Michel Aoun has called on Saudi Arabia to dispel the "mystery" surrounding Hariri's whereabouts.
In a statement released by his office on Saturday, Aoun asked Riyadh "to clarify the reasons that are preventing" Hariri from returning to Lebanon.
Aoun, who is yet to formally accept Hariri's resignation, added that anything Hariri has said or may say "does not reflect reality" due to the "dubious and mysterious situation that he is living in the kingdom."
Tensions are rising in what is seen as a new front line in the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Riyadh said Hariri (pictured above) is a free man and he decided to resign because Iran-allied Hezbollah had become dominant in his government.
Hariri had headed a coalition government for the best part of the last year including members of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech Friday that Hariri was being detained in Saudi Arabia and that his "forced" resignation was unconstitutional because it had been made "under duress."
"It is clear that Saudi Arabia ... declared war on Lebanon," he said.
US chips in
The United States said Hariri should be allowed to return to Lebanon. In a message aimed at the Saudis, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned on Friday against using Lebanon as "a venue for proxy conflicts."
Tillerson said if Hariri wants to step down he should "go back to Lebanon" and formally resign, "so that the government of Lebanon can function properly," adding that he had seen "no indication" that Hariri was being held against his will.
Middle East: proxy conflicts
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Tit for tat?
Saudi Arabia said on Friday that a Saudi citizen had been kidnapped in Lebanon.
"The embassy is in contact with the highest ranking Lebanese security authorities about securing the unconditional release of a kidnapped Saudi citizen as soon as possible," it said in a statement quoted by the Saudi state news agency SPA.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have advised their citizens against traveling to Lebanon and urged those already there to leave.
Saudi airstrike on Yemeni Defense Ministry
The other front in the war also saw action on Friday, when fighter jets from a Saudi-led coalition bombed the Houthi rebel-controlled Defense Ministry in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa late on Friday. Three civilians were reportedly wounded.
Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis
Yemen has struggled to cope with crises prompted by its atrocious civil war, including catastrophic hunger and devastating cholera outbreaks. DW examines the conflict and how it affects the country's civilian population.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
War: The 'root cause' of Yemen's disasters
The UN has identified conflict as the "root cause" of Yemen's crises. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the war erupted in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels launched a campaign to capture the capital, Sanaa. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a deadly campaign against the rebels, one that has been widely criticized by human rights groups for its high civilian death toll.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Fighting keeps food from the famished
The conflict has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching large parts of the civilian population, resulting in more than two-thirds of the country's 28 million people being classified as "food insecure." Nearly 3 million children and pregnant or nursing women are acutely malnourished, according to the UN World Food Program.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Displacement: Converging crises
More than 3 million people have been displaced by conflict, including marginalized communities such as the "Muhammasheen," a minority tribe that originally migrated from Africa. Despite the civil war, many flee conflict in Somalia and head to Yemen, marking the convergence of two major migration crises in the Middle East nation. Yemen hosts around 250,000 Somali refugees, according to UNHCR.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Cholera: A deadly epidemic
The number of suspected cholera cases has exceeded more than 2 million and least 3,700 people have died from the waterborne bacterial infection in Yemen since October 2019, said the WHO. Although cholera can be easily treated, it can kill within hours when untreated.
Image: Reuters/K. Abdullah
Unsuspecting victims of the'war on terror'
In Yemen, violence goes beyond civil conflict: It is considered a strategic front in the war on terrorism. The country serves as the operational base for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, dubbed the "most dangerous" terrorist group before the rise of the "Islamic State." The US routinely uses drones to target al-Qaida leadership. However, civilians have often been killed in the operations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Arhab
Children's fate: Future marred by tragedy
In a country paralyzed by conflict, children are one of the most at-risk groups in Yemen. More than 12 million children require humanitarian aid, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency. The country's education system is "on the brink of collapse," while children are dying of "preventable causes like malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections," according to the agency.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Peace: An elusive future
Despite several attempts at UN-backed peace talks, the conflict continues to rage on. Saudi Arabia has vowed to continue supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. On the other hand, Houthi rebels have demanded the formation of a unity government in order to move forward on a political solution. A peace deal, however, remains elusive.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
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The coalition has increased attacks on Yemen since the Houthis — who control large parts of the country — fired a rocket at the Saudi capital last weekend.
Saudi Arabia and its allies shut down Yemen's borders earlier this week after intercepting a missile fired by the Houthis near Riyadh airport on Saturday.
The UN said on Friday that the coalition is still blocking UN aid deliveries to Yemen despite the reopening of the Yemeni port of Aden and also a land border crossing.
The Houthis continue to control the capital, Sanaa, and much of Yemen's north.
The conflict has left more than 8,650 people dead, including many civilians.
