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Lebanese Govt Denies Report Saying Hezbollah Stores Weapons at Beirut Airport

A view of Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. (File photo)
A view of Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. (File photo)
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Lebanese Govt Denies Report Saying Hezbollah Stores Weapons at Beirut Airport

A view of Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. (File photo)
A view of Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. (File photo)

The Lebanese authorities denied on Sunday a report claiming that Hezbollah is using Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport to store weapons. Instead, they invited ambassadors and journalists to take a tour of the airport's facilities on Monday to prove there are no arms.

On Sunday, The Telegraph claimed that for years, Hezbollah has used the airport to transfer weapons from Iran, turning it into an Israeli target.

It quoted anonymous whistleblowers claiming they had observed “unusually big boxes” being flown in aboard flights from Iran.

The newspaper said the cache allegedly includes Iranian-made Falaq unguided artillery rockets and Fateh-110 short-range missiles.

It quoted the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as saying: “We have known for years that Hezbollah has stored weapons at Beirut airport.”

The Lebanese government denied the claims, labeling the report “ridiculous.”

During a press conference at the airport, caretaker Transportation Minister Ali Hamieh said: “This is a ridiculous article, and I hope the newspaper will check with the British Ministry of Transportation, which had an on-ground visit to the airport on January 22, 2024.”

Hamieh also stated that he was in contact with IATA to refute these claims.

The minister said airport staff don't have the authority to open boxes that arrive, but rather that falls within the work of the customs department and airport security. Therefore, he added, The Telegraph should quote sources from the customs department, not airport staff.

He stressed that Rafik Hariri International Airport has for years been the target of disinformation.

Hamieh invited foreign diplomats and the media for an inspection tour of the airport on Monday morning, adding that the government is preparing to file a complaint against The Telegraph.

On Sunday, fears mounted in Lebanon that Israel could use The Telegraph report as an excuse to strike the airport.

The Union of Air Transport in Lebanon (UTA) denied the “baseless” report, describing it as “mere illusions and lies aimed at endangering Beirut airport and its civilian workers, as well as travelers, all of whom are civilians.”

“We hold (The Telegraph) and those quoting it and spreading its falsehoods, responsible for the safety of those who work at Beirut airport in all its facilities,” UTA said in a statement carried by the Lebanese National News Agency.

“We consider the reports spread by suspicious media outlets as incitement to kill us,” it added.

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RSF Attack a City under Military Control in Central Sudan, Opening a New Front

Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
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RSF Attack a City under Military Control in Central Sudan, Opening a New Front

Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)

Fighting continued to rage between Sudan’s military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a city in a central province, officials said Sunday, opening yet another front in a fourteen-month war that has pushed the African country to the brink of famine.

The RSF began its offensive on the Sennar province earlier this week, attacking the village of Jebal Moya before moving to the city of Singa, the provincial capital, authorities said, where fresh battles have erupted.

On Saturday, the group claimed in a statement it had seized the military’s main facility, the 17th Infantry Division Headquarters in Singa. Local media also reported the RSF managed to breach the military’s defense.

However, Brig. Nabil Abdalla, a spokesperson for the Sudanese armed forces, said the military regained control of the facility, and that fighting was still underway Sunday morning.

Neither claim could be independently verified.

According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, at least 327 households had to flee from Jebal Moya and Singa to safer areas.

“The situation remains tense and unpredictable,” it said in a statement.

The latest fighting in Sennar comes while almost all eyes are on al-Fasher, a major city in the sprawling region of Darfur that the RSF has besieged for months in an attempt to seize it from the military. Al-Fasher is the military's last stronghold in Darfur.

Sudan’s war began in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The devastating conflict has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded 33,000 others, according to the United Nations, but rights activists say the toll could be much higher.

It created the world’s largest displacement crisis with over 11 million people forced to flee their homes. International experts warned Thursday that that 755,000 people are facing famine in the coming months, and that 8.5 million people are facing extreme food shortages.

The conflict has been marked by widespread reports of rampant sexual violence and other atrocities — especially in Darfur, the site of a genocide in the early 2000s. Rights groups say the atrocities amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.