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28 March 2024

Beirut TV station attacked

A Lebanese policeman steps out of the destroyed main entrance of the Lebanese TV station in Beirut on Tuesday 26 June. (AP)

Published
By AP

Masked men attacked the headquarters of a leading Lebanese TV station with burning tyres after it hosted a cleric who harshly criticised the country's leaders, police said on Tuesday.

Video footage of the Monday night attack taken by security cameras and broadcast on local television showed five masked figures assaulting the headquarters of Al-Jadeed TV in Beirut.

The attackers also fired several shots at the building, police said, leaving it damaged only lightly and causing no casualties. The police officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to release the information, believe the attack came in response to the channel's interview with cleric Sheik Ahmad Al Aseer. One suspect was in custody, they added.

Ibrahim Dsouki, who runs the station's website, said it had been knocked out of service for several hours due to another, online attack.

Guards at the television station detained the suspect, whose pants caught fire during the attack, and handed him over to police, police said.

The man's detention sparked an angry protest in the central neighborhood of Zoqaq Blat, where dozens rallied in his support, blocking roads and burning tires.

Soldiers later re-opened the roads and conducted raids in the quarter, where the suspect lives, in search of accomplices.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the detainee was a known trouble maker and was previously convicted.
In Al-Jadeed's broadcast on Sunday, Al Aseer, one of Lebanon's most outspoken clerics, leveled harsh criticism at the country's most powerful figures — Sheik Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah, and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Amal movement.

Al Aseer accused them of taking control of the country and being behind the brief detention of a notable cleric along with his wife and child last week.

"I swear to God I will make you pay a high price," Al Aseer said in response to the incident, in comments directed at Nasrallah. Al Aseer is also a harsh critic of the Syrian president, having organised a large demonstration earlier this year in support of the country's uprising.

Amal denied reports the arson suspect in custody was a member of the movement.

Hours after the interview with Al Aseer was aired on Sunday, Al-Jadeed said his statements did not reflect the views of the station.