Dozens wounded in fresh clash
BEIRUT: Dozens were wounded in Lebanon’s capital on Saturday after police clashed with protesters angered by delays in forming a government as anti-establishment demonstrations enter a fourth month.
The protest movement rocking Lebanon since Oct 17 revived last week as a deepening economic crisis increases pressure to form a new government.
No progress appears to have been made towards finalising the cabinet, which protesters demand be comprised of independent experts and exclude all established political parties.
On Saturday evening, fire tore through protest tents in an iconic square in central Beirut. What caused the blaze was not immediately clear.
Earlier, marches converged on the city centre from across Beirut, with demonstrators chanting “We won’t pay the price”.
Near parliament, dozens of protesters threw rocks and large plant pots at police guarding the institution. Others charged police blockades with traffic signs and metal barriers.
Security forces behind the barricades responded with water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowds.
The Red Cross said dozens were wounded, with 40 people transported to hospital and 60 treated at the scene.
“A direct and violent confrontation is taking place with anti-riot police at one of the entrances to parliament,” the Internal Security Forces said on Twitter.
“We ask peaceful protesters to keep away from the site of the rioting for their safety.”
They published photos of several wounded policemen and a video showing pillars stripped of their tiles, reportedly to be thrown at security forces.
A photographer saw young men uproot parking metres. He also saw around 10 people faint from tear gas inhalation.
A 23-year-old woman named Maya said she was protesting because politicians seemed to be ignoring demands for an overhaul of the old political class.
“I’m here because after more than 90
days in the streets, they’re still squabbling over their shares in government... It’s as if they didn’t see our movement,” she said.
“Popular anger is the solution,” she added.
Forming a cabinet is an often convoluted process in Lebanon, where a complex system seeks to maintain balance between the country’s many political parties and religious confessions.
But protesters say they want to scrap the old system, and demand a new government of impartial technocrats to address mounting economic woes, including a severe liquidity crisis.