Arab League To Help Resolve Lebanese Crisis, Says Official

UAE sends 40 tonnes of relief to Lebanon; angry protesters enter the foreign ministry as 142 are injured in clashes; PM Diab to introduce bill proposing early elections; Dutch ambassador’s wife dies of wounds suffered in the blast.

Arab League (AL) Chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Saturday he would seek to mobilize Arab efforts to provide support to Lebanon after this week’s catastrophic explosion in Beirut destroyed parts of the capital.

“The recent, dangerous, painful events prove that there is no alternative (for Lebanon) to preserving the bridges with the Arab environment,” the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Twitter.

Also on Saturday, a UAE plane carrying 40 metric tonnes of critical medical and food supplies as well as nutritional supplements for kids has arrived in Beirut in support of the victims of the massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital on Tuesday.

The urgent humanitarian aid comes in implementation of the directives of the His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and under the follow-up of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region, Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC).

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, he also said the Cairo-based league of Arab states was ready to assist the investigation into the blast.