Lebanese Embassy in Libya Vandalized

After protesting the invitation of Libya to an economic summit and tearing down the country’s flag in Beirut, unknown assailants retaliated in Libya vandalizing the Lebanese embassy in the Libyan capital and smashing its contents, media reports said on Monday.

No further details about the assailants were reported.

On Sunday, supporters of the AMAL Movement replaced a Libyan flag with their movement’s flag near the Seaside Arena venue in Beirut in protest at the invitation of Libya to an Arab economic summit that will be held in the capital later this month.

Tensions have surged in recent days over the issue of Libya’s participation.

AMAL accuses the former regime of slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi of kidnapping its revered founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr during a visit to Libya in 1978.

The case has strained Libyan-Lebanese ties for the past four decades and in recent days the invitation and talk of the possibility of freeing Gadhafi’s son Hannibal from Lebanese prisons have deepened tensions between AMAL and the Free Patriotic Movement.

Libya’s High Council of State demanded Monday severing ties with Lebanon on the grounds of “insulting the flag,” noting that these acts “do not represent the Lebanese people,” media reports said.