S Arabia, UAE summon Lebanon envoys

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia and the UAE summoned Lebanon’s ambassadors on Wednesday over Information Minister George Kordahi’s criticism of the Riyadh-led military coalition fighting rebels in Yemen.

Kordahi said during an interview aired on Monday that the Iran-backed Huthi rebels are "defending themselves... against an external aggression". He also called the seven-year war in Yemen "futile" and "time for it to end".

Tens of thousands of people -- most of them civilian -- have died and millions have been displaced, in what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it handed the ambassador a memorandum protesting Kordahi’s "offensive" remarks. It also expressed its regret over the "insulting" statements, saying they were "clearly biased towards the terrorist Huthi militia that threatens the security and stability of the region".