British tourists have been told to avoid all travel to Lebanon due to fears that Syrian violence could spread across the border.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) updated its travel advice, stating that Britons should avoid all but essential travel to the whole country following a "recent upsurge in violence and wider regional tensions".
The FCO said: "There may be an increased risk of anti-western sentiment linked to the possibility of military action in Syria."
Parts of the country had already been designated off-limits with British travellers advised not to travel within 5km of the Syria border and to avoid the Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli, the Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
But this will affect tourism in all of Lebanon including tourist attraction Byblos – reputedly one of the oldest inhabited settlements.
Tom Fletcher, the British Ambassador to Lebanon said: "We don’t take these decisions lightly, and we very much hope this is a temporary measure. The decision relates to the recent upsurge in violence in Lebanon, and tensions in the region."
