Beirut Airport Screens Come Under Cyberattack, Hackers Send Message to Hezbollah

FILE PHOTO - A view of an empty hall at Beirut's international airport  - REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirREUTERS
FILE PHOTO - A view of an empty hall at Beirut's international airport - REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirREUTERS
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Beirut Airport Screens Come Under Cyberattack, Hackers Send Message to Hezbollah

FILE PHOTO - A view of an empty hall at Beirut's international airport  - REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirREUTERS
FILE PHOTO - A view of an empty hall at Beirut's international airport - REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirREUTERS

Beirut airport on Sunday came under a cyberattack, Lebanon's state news agency said, with footage shared by local media showing anti-Hezbollah messages had replaced screen displays at its terminal.

Media reports said the airport message urged the powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah not to "drag the country into war".

Lebanon's National News Agency said "the cyberattack on the departure and arrival screens at the airport disrupted the BHS baggage inspection system."

It added that authorities were working to restore the screens "and to maintain normal movement at the airport".

The message said the airport was "not the airport of Hezbollah and Iran", AFP reported.

"Hassan Nasrallah, no one will support you if you drag the country into war," it added, addressing the group's leader, also saying "we will not fight on behalf of anyone."

"You're going to blow up our airport by bringing in weapons. Let the airport be freed from the grip of the (Hezbollah) statelet," the airport message said.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.