100 detained in violent Lebanese protests
Lebanon’s security forces were holding at least 100 antigovernment protesters yesterday, lawyers said, after two nights of demonstrations that turned violent in Beirut.
Unprecedented nationwide protests, with demonstrators demanding an end to endemic corruption and the wholesale removal of Lebanon’s political elite, broke out nearly three months ago.
With little change in sight, protesters, also angered by a financial crisis they blame on Lebanon’s oligarchs, resumed their rallies with renewed determination on Tuesday after a holiday lull.
Protesters vandalised several banks on the central Hamra Street on Tuesday evening and hurled rocks at anti-riot police, who responded with volleys of teargas canisters.
Gathered in front of the Central Bank again on Wednesday, the protesters then moved to a police station where some of their comrades had been detained the previous night, leading to clashes that left dozens lightly wounded.
According to documents put together by a committee of lawyers defending the protesters, 101 protesters are being detained over the violence.
“The total number of people arrested now tops 100, it’s madness,” non-government organisation Legal Agenda head Nizar Saghieh said.
Former prime minister Saad Hariri resigned under pressure less than two weeks into the wave of protests but a new government has still not been formed.
After a long search for a suitable candidate, former education minister and university professor Hassan Diab was nominated and tasked with picking a new cabinet.
Protesters have demanded a government of technocrats excluding the household names that have symbolised Lebanon’s sectarian-based politics for generations.
Government formation talks have proved tough, however, and despite pressure from Lebanon’s foreign partners and donors, Diab has yet to announce his government.