Lebanon PM 'held captive' in Saudi Arabia, Lebanese president says

Hariri quit his post earlier this month in a televised statement from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, but Lebanese President Michel Aoun said he would not recognize Hariri's resignation until he returned to Lebanon.

"Nothing justifies Prime Minister Saad Hariri's not returning to the country in 12 days. We therefore consider him detained and held captive, which violates the Vienna Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Aoun said Wednesday, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

"It is not possible for us to make a decision about this resignation from abroad. (Hariri) should return to Lebanon and submit his resignation so that we may refer to it and probe its reasons and ways to solve it," Aoun said, according to NNA.

Michel Aoun (pictured) will not accept Hariri's resignation until he returns to Lebanon.

Hariri resigned in an address from Riyadh on November 4, saying his life was in danger. He has not been back to Lebanon since, fueling speculation that he is being held against his will.

His announcment plunged Lebanon into a political crisis and stoked fears of conflict between the Saudi-backed faction of the country's government and the Iranian-backed Shia militant group Hezbollah, with whom Hariri shares power.

So far Lebanon's rival political factions have called for calm, and made public statements asking for Hariri's return.

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In a tweet on Tuesday, Hariri declared that he would return to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia within two days.

"Everyone, I'm very well and if God wills it I'll be back in the next two days. Everyone calm down. My family is in their own country, the good Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Hariri wrote.

Last week, a high-level ministerial source told CNN that Hariri's closest allies "have no idea what's going on," and that members of his own political party believe Saudi Arabia is "restricting" his movements.

France called Tuesday for Hariri be allowed to "return home freely" and urged all sides to ratchet down tensions.

In an address to the French National Assembly, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said: "The goal is for Saad Hariri to be able to return home freely to clarify his situation in accordance with the Lebanese constitution. It's also important that all Lebanese parties agree to respect civil peace."

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