The streets near Future TV's headquarter in Beirut were deserted during the tense hours, when the Lebanese Army took control over the TV station after gunmen besieged the station. Photo: Ralph Graziani/IMS

TV-stations as well as newspapers are being targeted in the armed attacks that have taken place in Lebanon's capitol, Beirut in the past three days following rising tension between the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah militia

This afternoon hooded men forced their way into Future TV, a TV-station controlled by Saad Hariri, a leader of the pro-Western coalition governing Lebanon, and set it on fire. According to BBC News, the Lebanese army took control and shot down Future TV yesterday, after gunmen besieged the TV-station. The army also silenced Hariri's radio station and newspaper, Al-Mustaqbal after the building had been partially burnt down.

IMS partner New TV is still operating, but according to Ralph Graziani, the TV-station has experienced disturbing incidents following its reports on the current crisis:

- New TV tries to document the crisis by reporting what is going on. This makes them unpopular with the political fractions, insofar the reports go against the interests of these fractions.

From his quarters in the Hamra District in West Beirut, Graziani says that according to local reports, the armed unrest is spreading throughout Beirut. Earlier this morning militias carrying red banners allegedly signalling they belong to the Hariri fraction, toured his neighbourhood carrying machine guns and calling the locals to stay in doors.

Wrapped up in the conflict

The attacks on media mark a new development in Lebanon. During the civil war between 1975-89, media were spared by all sides in order to secure a constant flow of information.

In the current crisis in Lebanon, however, control over the airwaves and lines of communication lies at the core of the controversy, as the Lebanese government earlier this week declared an independent fixed-line communication network set up by Hezbollah in south and east of Lebanon as well as southern Beirut for illegal. The government also accused the head of security at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut of sympathizing with Hezbollah as he allegedly let the militia install secret video surveillance equipment to monitor movements of VIPs at the airport.

Furthermore, reports suggest that Lebanese journalists and media have taken sides in the current crisis, which has not been seen before.

IMS programme officer, Osama Al-Habahbeh, who was in Beirut just a few days ago in connection with a workshop which IMS is currently running for Iraqi media professionals in Beirut, confirms this impression:

- I have seen newspaper headlines in the past few days, in which they used strong language on the front covers accusing on side or the other of taking sides, says Osama Al-Habahbeh who is currently in Damascus in Syria.

In a seminar organised by the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, Danish daily Information and French Le Monde Diplomatique with support from IMS last year, the issue of biased media and the role of media in times of crisis was raised due to rising concerns over Lebanese media showing signs of taking sides.