Kuwait to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged Hizbollah links — report

KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait is to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged links to Hizbollah in the latest Gulf Arab move against the Shiite militant group, a newspaper reported on Monday.

Those to be deported all had permanent residency which has been revoked, Al Qabas daily said.

Those classified as "dangerous cases" were given just two days to leave the country, it added.

It is the second wave of deportations from Kuwait reported since Gulf Arab states blacklisted Hizbollah as a "terrorist" group earlier this month.

Last week, Al Qabas reported that 11 Lebanese and three Iraqis had been deported for alleged links to the group.

Around 50,000 Lebanese live and work in the oil-rich emirate, providing remittances that are vital to the domestic economy.

The terror blacklisting was the latest step taken by Gulf states, led by Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, against Hizbollah, the leading force in Lebanon's governing bloc which is backed by Riyadh's Shiite rival Tehran.

Last month, Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion programme of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was "the stranglehold of Hizbollah on the state".

It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there.

Qatar and Kuwait followed with similar travel advisories, while the United Arab Emirates banned its nationals from travel to Lebanon.