Saudi newspaper in Beirut attacked

A group of unidentified attackers broke into the office of the Saudi newspaper, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, in Beirut and damaged its contents, security sources told Anadolu on Thursday.

The sources said: “About 10 youths broke into the office of Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper in Al-Ghazal Building in Beirut and damaged the contents in the presence of a number of workers. They then fled away.”

Lebanese relations with the Gulf States have deteriorated since February, when Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting its military aid to the Lebanese army which is seen as being dominated by Hezbollah.

Prior to the assault on Al-Sharq Al-Awsat’s office, the administration of the Saudi TV stations Al-Arabia and Al-Hadath ordered their employees to vacate their offices in Beirut for “security reasons.”

Anadolu reported sources saying that the multiple threats sent to the employees of both channels have undermined their ability to continue their work in Lebanon.