RIYADH, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon after violence following the nomination of Shi'ite Hezbollah-backed premier, the kingdom said on Wednesday, in a potential economic blow to Beirut.
Hundreds of angry protesters burned tyres and blocked roads across Lebanon on Tuesday after Hezbollah-backed Najib Mikati was named prime minister. [ID:nLDE70O1D8]
Sunni Muslims loyal to outgoing premier Saad al-Hariri, Rafik's son who has Western and Saudi backing, staged a "day of rage" to protest the appointment of Sunni billionaire Mikati, a centrist lawmaker with ties to both Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia advised its nationals not to travel to Lebanon until the situation had stabilised, the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official news agency SPA.
Lebanon is a popular destination for Saudis and other Gulf Arabs, particularly in the summer. Some 191,000 Saudis tourists visited Lebanon in 2010, according to the Lebanese tourism ministry.
Mikati's nomination is seen as a victory for Hezbollah, which is trying to fend off a U.N.-backed tribunal set up in 2009 to try the killers of statesman Rafik al-Hariri and which is expected to accuse members of the Shi'ite group. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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