Lebanon gives army extensive new powers to target protests

LEBANON’S parliament yesterday granted the army sweeping powers to quell unrest following a deadly explosion in Beirut that has reignited angry anti-government protests.

Human rights groups fear that the exceptional powers under the twoweek state of emergency will be used to crack down on renewed protests demanding the overthrow of a political elite widely blamed for the catastrophic explosion on Aug 4.

The blast killed at least 171 people, according to the health ministry, and destroyed an estimated 50,000 residential units in Beirut, further enraging Lebanese citizens already struggling amid a collapsing economy and a worsening coronavirus pandemic.

Lebanese security forces were deployed heavily in Beirut yesterday, blocking roads to prevent protesters from reaching a conference centre where members of parliament met for the first time since the blast.

The law allows military trials of civilians and the banning of gatherings, Lebanese law monitor The Legal Agenda said. The military can raid homes and impose house arrest on anyone suspected of harming security, it said.

Nizar Saghieh, a human rights lawyer, said the only justification for the state of emergency was to extend the power of the state and “control the opposition”.

Nationwide anti-government protests began last October but street protests had halted due to the pandemic.

Angry protesters have marched nightly in Beirut since Saturday, with security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

Many Lebanese blame the government, which resigned on Monday but remains in a caretaker capacity, for the explosion of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that were stored in a port warehouse for six years, despite repeated warnings to the highest level.

The FBI will join Lebanese and other international investigators in a probe into the disaster, David Hale, a senior US diplomat, said yesterday.