BEIRUT, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Protests in southern Lebanon on Wednesday forced U.S. envoy Tom Barrack to cut short a planned tour of the border region, security sources and eyewitnesses said.
Hundreds of residents gathered in the town of Khiam, the city of Tyre, and at intersections in several border villages, waving Hezbollah flags, carrying photos of fighters killed in past conflicts and holding banners denouncing U.S. support for Israel.
Barrack had earlier arrived by Lebanese army helicopter at the Francois al-Hajj barracks in Marjayoun, where he met Lebanese officers for a briefing on the security situation in the south, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. He then toured the border region by air, viewing five sites still occupied by Israeli forces, before cancelling planned stops on the ground due to the protests, the sources said.
Activists on social media had called for rejecting the visit, describing it as "an attempt to legitimise suspicious political and economic projects" and saying "the South is not an open arena for those who ignore the sacrifices of its resistance and people."
The visit followed criticism of Barrack a day earlier, when he described Lebanese journalists as "animalistic" during a press conference at the presidential palace in Beirut. "Please, be quiet for a moment… The moment this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we're gone," he told reporters. "If you want to know what's happening, act civilised, act kind, act tolerant, because this is the problem in the region."
The remarks sparked backlash from journalists and social media users. The presidency issued a brief statement saying it "expresses regret for the statements inadvertently made from its platform by one of its guests."
The Union of Journalists in Lebanon condemned Barrack's comments as "an unacceptable display of superiority" and "a blatant violation of the most basic principles of diplomatic etiquette," adding they reflected "deep-seated colonial arrogance toward the peoples of the region."
Barrack, a longtime ally and fundraiser for U.S. President Donald Trump, was sworn in earlier this year as U.S. ambassador to Türkiye. He also serves as Washington's special envoy for Syria. ■
