Police rough up protesters in Lebanon
beirut — An upsurge of violence in Lebanon’s protests against the ruling elite, with police meting out beatings and protesters hurling stones, has alarmed rights groups and whipped up public fury.
After a brief lull in largely peaceful protests since October, people filled the streets again this week, angry at a political class that has fostered corruption and steered Lebanon into its worst economic crisis since a 19751990 civil war.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, police with batons and tear gas wounded and arrested dozens as protesters lit fires and smashed bank facades and ATMs, Reuters journalists saw.
“These past two nights, they (police) were really barbaric,” said Cynthia Sleiman, a charity worker and protester who ended up in hospital after Wednesday night’s violence in Beirut. —
beirut — Lebanon’s security forces were holding at least 100 anti-government protesters on Thursday, lawyers said, after two nights of demonstrations that turned violent in Beirut.
An unprecedented nationwide movement of protests 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 tear gas 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, a total of 101 protesters are currently being detained over the violence. “The total number of people arrested now tops 100, it’s madness,” said Nizar Saghieh, who heads the Legal Agenda non-government organisation.
A fresh demonstration is planned on Thursday to demand he release of those held.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned under pressure from the street less than two weeks into the wave of protests but a new government has still not been formed. —