Obaid appointed acting airport security chief- report

According to local reports , Elie Obeid was appointed on Tuesday as the acting security chief at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport , during the absence of the former chief Brigadier General Wafiq Shoucair .

Shoucair was granted one month leave of absence at his request following his resignation by Interior Minister Ziad Baroud.

Shoucair, who was angered by the campaign against the Airport security apparatus submitted his resignation to Baroud on Monday, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. Shoucair also asked for an immediate leave of absence.

According to An Nahar Baroud, rejected Shoucair’s resignation pending completion of investigation.

Shoucair reportedly refused to take the sole blame for the the scandal, saying that he was the target of a ” media campaign”

Shoucair’s resignation comes after the body of a 20 year old Lebanese was found Saturday on the landing gear of a Saudi jet aircraft .

The person was officially identified by Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar as Firas Haider . He lived in Burj el Barajnet near the airport , which explains the reason behind his ability to infiltrate the airport runways.

Security meeting

Prime Minister Saad Hariri presided over a meeting at Beirut airport on Tuesday to discuss the security breech

The meeting was attended by several ministers: Minister of National Defense and Deputy Prime Minister Elias Murr, Minister of Public Works and Transportation , Ghazi Aridi, Minister of Youth and Sports Ali Al Abdullah, Public Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalifeh, Minister of Economy and Trade Muhammad Safadi, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, Minister of Tourism, Fadi Abboud, the Minister of Finance Ria Hassan, Minister of Environment Mohamed Rahal, and Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami.

Also present were Director General of Civil Aviation Hamdi Shaouk, head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction Nabil Jisr, Shoucair, presidential counselor Elie Assaf, Hariri adviser Fadi Fawaz.

There were reports that Obeid was also present but this could not be independently confirmed

Following the meeting Minister Aridi told reporters :

“A committee headed by the interior minister was formed and tasked with investigating over what happened at the airport and to recommend a plan for improving the security conditions at the Beirut airport. ”