Libya will not participate in the Arab Economic and Social Development summit in Beirut next week, Libya’s foreign minister reportedly said in an interview with a Libyan TV channel Sunday night.

This comes after Speaker Nabih Berri and his Amal Movement have been calling for the summit, set for Jan. 19-20, to be postponed over Libya’s participation.

According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammad Siala told Libya Al Ahrar TV, “The official delegation is not participating due to Lebanese authorities in Beirut’s airport preventing Libyan businessmen from entering and to protest the offending of the Libyan flag.”

Amal movement holds Libya authorities under rule of dictator Moammar Gaddafi responsible for the disappearance of Imam Sayyed Moussa al-Sadr on August 31, 1978.

Since Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011, Lebanon has repeatedly called on the Libyan government to launch an investigation into Imam Sadr’s disappearance.

Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the Libyan dictator, is currently in custody in Lebanon, facing charges of withholding information regarding Sayyed Sadr’s case.

Source: The Daily Star