Tear Gas Fired at Hezbollah Supporters Protesting Lebanon Blocking Iranian Flight

Lebanese army fire tear gas during a protest by supporters of Hezbollah in front of the entrance to Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 February 2025. (EPA)
Lebanese army fire tear gas during a protest by supporters of Hezbollah in front of the entrance to Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 February 2025. (EPA)
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Tear Gas Fired at Hezbollah Supporters Protesting Lebanon Blocking Iranian Flight

Lebanese army fire tear gas during a protest by supporters of Hezbollah in front of the entrance to Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 February 2025. (EPA)
Lebanese army fire tear gas during a protest by supporters of Hezbollah in front of the entrance to Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 15 February 2025. (EPA)

The Lebanese army fired tear gas on Saturday at Hezbollah supporters protesting around Beirut airport against Lebanon blocking an Iranian flight to Beirut this week after the Israeli military accused Tehran of using civilian aircraft to smuggle cash to Beirut to arm the Lebanese group.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah called on the army to hold those who fired at the protesters to account.

The Lebanese army and government "should have held immediate meetings to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates on the airport and from continuing its occupation of Lebanese territory ... instead of using force against a peaceful sit-in on the airport road," Fadlallah added in a statement.

Iran barred Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Iran on Friday, in a standoff between the two countries following what Tehran described as an Israeli threat to attack it.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke to his Lebanese counterpart by phone on the matter and both "declared their readiness for constructive talks," state media said, without elaborating.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday had said that Israel had threatened a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens from Tehran, disrupting flights to Beirut airport. He condemned the alleged Israeli threat as a violation of international law.



Suspected RSF Strike Hits a Prison, Killing at Least 19 in Sudan, Officials Say

 A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Suspected RSF Strike Hits a Prison, Killing at Least 19 in Sudan, Officials Say

 A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)

A suspected drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces hit a prison in Sudan's southern region of Kordofan on Saturday and killed at least 19 prisoners, authorities said, the latest deadly attack in the country’s more than two-year civil war.

The attack on the main prison in Obeid, the capital city of North Kordofan, also wounded 45 other prisoners, according to a statement from the province’s police forces.

The statement accused the Rapid Support Forces of launching the attack, which came as the RSF escalated its drone strikes on the military-held areas across the country.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese military for more than two years.

Earlier this month, the RSF launched multi-day drone attack on Port Sudan, the Red Sea city serving as an interim seat for the Sudanese government. The strikes hit the city’s airports, maritime port and other facilities including fuel storages.

The RSF escalation came after the military struck the Nyala airport in South Darfur, where the RSF receives foreign military assistance, including drones. Local media say dozens of RSF officers were killed in last week's strike.

Sudan plunged into chaos on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country. Obeid is 363 kilometers (225 miles) south of Khartoum.

Since then, at least 24,000 people have been killed, though the number is likely far higher. The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. The conflict also has pushed parts of the country into famine.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western Darfur region, according to the UN and international rights groups.