Saudi diverts military aid from Lebanon to Sudan

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced aid worth $5 billion to the army of Sudan, shortly after the Kingdom cut of military aid from Lebanon.

The news came after the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir made a surprise visit to Khartoum on Monday, during which he met with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Topics discussed during the meeting reportedly included the fight against terrorism and issues related to the region including Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia.

Sudan is part of the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen since March 2015 and has sent ground troops to the conflict.

In return for its participation in the Yemeni campaign, Riyadh promised to exert "tireless efforts" to lift economic sanctions against Khartoum.

The country also severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January, joining Saudi Arabia and a number of its Gulf Arab allies in response to the attack on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following the execution of Saudi Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Last week Saudi Arabia cut off $4 billion worth in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces in response to rival Hizbollah's activities in the region.