Lebanese authorities have denied a French expert on jihadists entry to the country and accused him of links to extremist groups, diplomatic and security sources said Tuesday, reports Yahoo! News.
Romain Caillet, a 37-year-old researcher with the French Institute for the Near East, rejected the claim and suggested Lebanon's powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah was responsible for his expulsion.
A French embassy source said Caillet, who had been based in Lebanon for five years, was "turned away on Sunday... at Beirut airport when he tried to return from Morocco.
"No explanation of the reason for his expulsion has been provided to us," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A high-ranking source at Lebanon's general security agency said Caillet was suspected of involvement with extremists.
"Under the cover of his work, this individual was suspected of being linked with terrorist organisations," the source aid.