Beirut became a scene of violence this Saturday with a police officer killed and more than 200 injured amid protests against the political class after the tragedy that last Tuesday hit the country and that has generated a crisis of which, according to Prime Minister Hasan Diab, you only get out with early elections.
He “doomsday” was the slogan chosen by the protesters to call the protest on Saturday. Thousands of Lebanese, some with the brooms and shovels with which in recent days they have been cleaning the debris after the explosion that destroyed half of Beirut on Tuesday, attended to demand “resignation” from the country’s leaders.
It did not take long for the protest to turn violent, when the Protesters tried to enter Parliament and the Police responded by filling the streets with tear gas.
ONE DEAD AND MORE THAN 200 INJURED IN PROTESTS
The Security Forces indicated on Twitter that “a member of the Home Office died in the process of maintaining security while assisting detainees inside the Le Gray hotel, after being attacked by several murderous rioters, leading to his falling and dying. “
The Le Gray hotel was caught in the middle of the protests and a group of protesters set a fire outside its doors, leading to moments of anguish inside.
This was one of the points of conflict in a day with clashes in various parts of downtown Beirut that, according to the Lebanese Red Cross, led to at least 63 people being transferred to hospitals and 175 to be treated on the spot for wounds of various consideration.
Several dozen people marching through the capital stormed the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economy, Energy and Environment.
At the Foreign Office, which had been damaged by Tuesday’s explosion and was only guarded by two members of the security forces, the protesters read a manifesto against the country’s political class.
In addition, they unfolded a banner with the slogan “Capital of the October 17 Revolution”, alluding to the day that the protests that led to the resignation of the previous government of Saad Hariri exploded.
ELECTIONS WHILE THE DEAD RISE
The outrage has increased in recent days after the explosion last Tuesday in the port of Beirut of a shipment of almost 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health today raised 158 the death toll and 6,000 the wounded, while at this moment the number of missing persons is 21.
With the streets on fire, Diab addressed the nation in a televised speech to affirm that on Monday he will propose the call for early elections: “I call on the parties to agree on the next step (…) I will propose on Monday in (the meeting of) the Cabinet call early elections“said Diab.
The president, who took office in December after the resignation of Saad Hariri amid protests that exploded in October against the leaders and the sectarian system, said he is willing to “take responsibility for two months as long as structural reforms are undertaken. to save the country. “
“We are in a state of emergency regarding the destiny and future of the country,” he said.
The prime minister affirmed during his speech that “all those responsible for the disaster in the port will answer” for the tragedy.
CRISIS AMONG THE DEBRIS
The political crisis caused by the tragedy has led to the first resignations in Parliament. The deputies of the Kataeb party, a small formation with three seats, announced their resignation and their decision to accompany the protests of the population after the explosion on Tuesday.
Party chairman Sami Gemeyel said “Kataeb’s representatives decided to resign from Parliament” and to come forward “with all honest Lebanese for the good of Lebanon, free and independent sovereign.”
The resignations come as the work of Lebanese and international rescue teams continues to search for bodies in and around the ruins of the port of Beirut.
The brigades, some with dogs and drilling equipment, rummage through the tons of rubble that have been left after an explosion that today could be seen in what remains of the port.
In the place where the warehouse that exploded was located, there is now only a hole that fills the sea.
[Fotos] They paint murals in Paris in honor of the victims of the explosion in Beirut #CooperativeInHome https://t.co/eBOU1s1JSF pic.twitter.com/CUpL6zWpT3
– Cooperative (@Cooperative) August 9, 2020
–
