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11 Feb 2020

Lebanon: Water cannon meet anti-govt protest outside parliament



https://ediovision.blogspot.com/2020/02/lebanon-water-cannon-meet-anti-govt.html

Clashes broke out in Beirut on Tuesday between Lebanese protesters and security forces near the parliament building. The protesters were rallying against the new cabinet, which is expected to submit its new policy statement ahead of a vote of confidence, and attempted to block MPs' route to the legislature.

Lebanon has been gripped by months of anti-government protests since autumn last year. Protesters have been calling for an end to the current political class that they consider corrupt and incompetent, amid Lebanon's ongoing financial crisis.

Thirteen consecutive days of protests at the end of October already helped force the resignation of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The protesters' aim was reportedly to block as many roads as possible in downtown Beirut that could lead to Nejmeh Square. Their goal was to prevent MPs from reaching parliament for the session.

The police and armed forces hit back with water cannon in an attempt to stop the protesters from approaching Nijmeh Square, where parliament is located.

"There is no confidence in this corrupt, unjust and failed authority," said one protester during the rally.

Politicians are being blamed for massive corruption and mismanagement in a country that has accumulated one of the largest debt ratios in the world.

Lebanon now has a 152 percent debt to GDP ratio, making it the third most indebted country in the world.😈💩👎