• Lebanon, Hariri surrenders to street protests: "I am in a dead end, I resign as prime minister"

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By Tiziana Di Giovannandrea 18 January 2020 Lebanese President Michel Aoun ordered the deployment of Army units after the violent clashes that opposed demonstrators and security forces in Nijmeh Square, near the Parliament building.

The population disputes the worsening economic conditions in the country. The political and economic crisis that has hit the country has led to the resignation of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The incidents between police and demonstrators intensified after a group of face-covered demonstrators attempted to enter Parliament by forcing them to enter. The violent clashes made over a hundred wounded: the protesters threw stones, metal bars, branches and fireworks against the riot agents, interventions with a great deployment of forces, resorting to hydrants, water cannons, launch firecrackers and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.

The population returned to protest after a period of pause in the protests against the government. The new contrasts that started again in the week have been given the name "week of anger" . The demonstrations in Lebanon, which began on 17 October, are also due to the lack of formation of a new government capable of responding to the needs, mainly economic, of the population.

The Lebanese presidency therefore announced - also on its Twitter account - that President Aoun asked the ministers of Defense, Interior and Security "to protect the safety of peaceful demonstrators, avoid clashes, guarantee the security of property. public and private and restore order in the center of the capital. "