Bahrain asks Lebanese ambassador to leave country in 48-hours

MANAMA, Bahrain

Bahrain asked the Lebanese ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours on Saturday amid criticism about Saudi Arabia regarding the Yemeni war.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said Lebanese Ambassador Milad Hanna Nemmour was asked to leave because of the unacceptable and negative attitudes and statements by a Lebanese official.

The move came after Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations and asked the Lebanese ambassador to leave the Kingdom within 48 hours earlier Friday because Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi criticized the Saudi-led war against armed Houthi rebels.

Kordahi’s comments were made in a televised interview said to be recorded before he took his post in the new Cabinet headed by Mikati.

Asked if he "thinks that the Houthis, like Hezbollah, are defending their land as an armed organization," Kordahi responded: "Of course they are defending themselves ... My personal opinion is that this war in Yemen needs to end. Houses, buildings, villages, and cities are being attacked by fighter jets."

A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement carried by the Kingdom’s news agency said Hezbollah damaged Riyadh-Beirut relations and the “terrorist” group influences the decisions of the Lebanese state.

To avert the crisis, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Kordahi made the comment before taking his post and it does not reflect the government's position.

He added that the remarks in no way demonstrate Lebanon's policy with Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation and caused one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises.