Demonstrators blocked roads and hurled Molotov cocktails at bank offices across Lebanon on Monday as the national currency hit another low amid the prolonged economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, a Sputnik correspondent reported
BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2020) Demonstrators blocked roads and hurled Molotov cocktails at bank offices across Lebanon on Monday as the national currency hit another low amid the prolonged economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
Activists set fire to tires and blocked a highway in the center of Beirut and its northern suburb.
Demonstrations, accompanied by road blockades, also rocked Sidon, Tripoli, Baalbek district and Akkar, according to the LBCI broadcaster.
The armed forces were dispatched to restore order. In central Beirut, one person was injured in clashes between protesters and security forces.
The military command reaffirmed their respect for the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression, but reserved their right to take measures to ensure order and unhindered transport traffic.
The unrest comes after offices of private banks were torched in the southern city of Sidon and Tripoli in the north on Sunday. The Association of Banks in Lebanon has already officially requested the Interior Ministry to bring those responsible to account and ensure safe operation of financial organizations.
Mass protests broke out in violation of the state of epidemiological emergency, which was declared on March 16 and is set to last until May 11. People demand that the government alleviate the economic situation.
Lebanon has been living through an exacerbating economic crisis since October. Mass protests eventually resulted in a change of government, but no particular relief followed, as the COVID-19 outbreak added to economic woes by putting businesses on hold and people out of jobs.
