Several hundred demonstrators Lebanese rallied central Beirut on Saturday to castigate the government’s powerlessness in the face of the collapse economic, clashes erupted with supporters of the Shiite movement of Hezbollah.
This mobilization on the Place des Martyrs was accompanied by skirmishes between demonstrators and the police, who used tear gas. Forty-eight people were injured, including 37 treated on the spot, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.
Saturday’s rally is the first since authorities began to ease the containment imposed in mid-March to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. Lebanon experienced an unprecedented uprising in October against politicians accused of corruption and incompetence.
In the evening, a security source said, shots were fired in the capital between residents of a Sunni neighborhood, bastion of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and a nearby Shiite neighborhood, bastion of the Amal party. The army has deployed and restored calm, state agency ANI said two were injured.
Several high religious authorities, but also Mr. Hariri and Hezbollah, denounced insults against Aisha, the wife of the prophet, who were the source of the tensions. The insults sparked anger in northern Tripoli, where protesters threw stones at law enforcement who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, according to an AFP correspondent.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab denounced the insults on Twitter, calling on the Lebanese to show “Wisdom”.
Motley mobilization
Already during the day, tensions were high in Beirut. Among the protesters, some called for the disarmament of Hezbollah. Stone jets were exchanged between protesters and supporters of the powerful Shiite movement from a neighboring district, but the army intervened, according to an AFP photographer.
“Shiite, Shiite”chanted Hezbollah supporters, some waving the movement’s yellow flag. The issue of Hezbollah’s weapons is one of the main issues of contention in the political class. The group is the only faction not to have abandoned its military arsenal at the end of the civil war (1975-1990).
The majority of protesters were wearing a mask due to the coronavirus epidemic. “No to Hezbollah, no to its weapons”, could we read on the sign brandished by Sana, a 57-year-old demonstrator from Nabatiyé (south).
Heterogeneous groups take part in the demonstrations, advancing a plethora of economic and social grievances, and demanding for some of the anticipated legislative ones. “For a government that eliminates corruption, not that protects it”, could we read on a sign.
“Obtain our rights”
Near the Place des Martyrs, at the entrance to a street leading to the Parliament, demonstrators who cracked the security forces and ransacked shop windows were dispersed by tear gas.
The protesters set fire to dumpsters in the city center, repelled by riot police who were advancing in close ranks. “We are demonstrating for our rights, medical care, education, work, the most basic rights a human being needs to stay alive”, AFP Christina, a 21-year-old student, told AFP.
Triggered on October 17, 2019, the uprising saw some days hundreds of thousands of Lebanese beat the pavement to shout their rage.
Since last year, the country has continued its economic collapse, which has been accompanied by a sharp depreciation of the Lebanese pound and an explosion in inflation. Unemployment affects more than 35% of the working population, while more than 45% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Despite the slowdown in mobilization in recent months, processions of cars marched on certain days in the capital, while clashes in Tripoli pitted demonstrators against the police, killing one person in late April. Under pressure from the street, a new government was formed earlier this year, with no effect.
The authorities adopted an economic recovery plan in late April, and began negotiations on financial aid with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
– .
