Lebanon Cracks Down on 2 Houthi-Affiliated TV Stations

A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. (Reuters)
TT

Lebanon Cracks Down on 2 Houthi-Affiliated TV Stations

A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of Beirut central district, Lebanon, August 22, 2019. Picture taken August 22, 2019. (Reuters)

Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi requested that the General Security and Internal Security Forces probe two television stations affiliated with the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen that are operating from Beirut.

He ordered the probe to determine from where the al-Masira and al-Sahat channels are being broadcast so that the necessary measures can be taken against them.

The Interior Ministry announced it had received a letter from Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed bin Awad bin Mubarak over how the Houthis were "carrying out hostile acts of incitement from within Lebanese territories" through those stations, which are operating without a license.

The Ministry said the channels "may impede official efforts to bolster Lebanese relations with Arab countries and undermine their sovereignty, international laws and the Arab League charter."

Mawlawi also requested that the Information and Telecommunications Ministries probe the channels.



Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
TT

Separate Israeli Drone Strikes Kill 4 People in Lebanon

Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)
Forensic experts and firefighters work around the wreckage of a vehicle at the site of an Israeli drone attack in Araya, east of Beirut, on November 7, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Fadel ITANI / AFP)

An Israeli drone strike on Thursday hit a car at an army checkpoint in the southern port city of Sidon, killing three people and wounding several others, including Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers, Lebanon’s state news agency and the army said.

The Lebanese army said in a communique that three soldiers and four Malaysian peacekeepers were injured.

The National News Agency said one of the wounded was taken to the hospital while the peacekeepers were treated for minor injuries at the scene of the attack at the northern entrance of Sidon, Lebanon’s third-largest city. There was no immediate information on the identities of those who died.

The UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL said in a statement that a convoy bringing newly-arrived peacekeepers to south Lebanon was passing by when a drone strike took place near it. The strike lightly injured five peacekeepers, it said.
“We remind all actors of their obligation to avoid actions putting peacekeepers or civilians in danger. Differences should be resolved at the negotiating table, not through violence,” the statement said.

A drone strike earlier Thursday hit a car on a main highway just outside Beirut, killing one woman, according to local media.

The attack took place near Araya, where several similar drone strikes have taken place in the past week.