Lebanese interior Minister Mowlawi

by alarabiya.net — Lebanon on Thursday banned Bahraini opposition forces from holding two events in the country, amid strained ties between Beirut and Arab nations of the Gulf. The decision comes weeks after Lebanon ordered the expulsion of members of Bahrain’s leading opposition party, Al-Wefaq, after they held a news conference in Beirut that had irked authorities in the Gulf kingdom, where it is banned. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. On Thursday, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said he was banning “two events” organized by Bahraini opposition figures which were due to take place on Friday and next Monday. “If these two events were to take place, they would undermine official Bahraini authorities and Gulf Arab states, thus blocking efforts by Lebanon to boost ties with these countries,” Mawlawi said in a statement.

In October last year, Saudi Arabia and its allies, including Bahrain, suspended diplomatic ties with Lebanon after the airing of comments by then information minister George Kordahi criticizing Riyadh’s military intervention in Yemen. Kordahi resigned in December in a bid to ease the stand-off, as part of diplomatic efforts to restore trust between Beirut, which is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis, with the wealthy Gulf states. According to Mawlawi, the events had been scheduled to take place in a hotel near Beirut airport, in the capital’s southern suburbs — a stronghold of the Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah. Since Bahrain’s 2011 uprising, which ended in a bloody crackdown, opposition parties have been banned, with dozens of political opponents jailed. In July 2016, Bahrain’s judiciary dissolved Al-Wefaq over allegations including “harboring terrorism.” Al-Wefaq has close links with Hezbollah. Mawlawi did not say who was organizing the planned events in Beirut.