BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2019) Lebanese security forces brought central Beirut under control after violent Shiite youths tried to get past police shielding an anti-government rally on Saturday, a Sputnik correspondent said.
Calm returned after security forces made a truce with rioters who had spent hours trying to break through barricades surrounding protest camps at Martyr's Square and Ring Bridge. Police responded with volleys of tear gas.
"The situation has stabilized. Police officers and the army's special operations units managed to make a deal with the [attacking] side and tensions deescalated," a source told Sputnik.
The nearby street of Riad Al Solh became a new flashpoint after peaceful marchers tried to get past security forces guarding the national parliament building.
The Lebanese capital has seen weeks of running battles between security forces and aggressive supporters of two main Shiite movements, Hezbollah and Amal.
The Hezbollah leader tried on Friday to distance himself from the rioters, saying in a televised address that supporters of both groups should calm down and exercise patience.
Lebanon has been on edge after mass protests triggered by a deepening economic crisis forced the government to resign in October. President Michel Aoun has been struggling to put together a new government.
