Lebanon: Saturday under high tension between antis and pro-Michel Aoun

An anti-government demonstration in Beirut after the disaster of August 4.

(Drawing).

REUTERS / Mohamed Azakir

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

This Saturday, September 12, demonstrators against President Michel Aoun faced his supporters in Beirut.

Despite the deployment of hundreds of soldiers, including army commandos and riot police, tension was high on the road to the presidential palace.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

Demonstrators hostile to power marched towards the palace chanting slogans against

, to whom they take responsibility for the multiple crises and tragedies that have struck Lebanon for a little less than a year.

Stopped by several cordon of soldiers and police, the protesters hung gallows on one of the road signs crossing a highway leading to the presidential palace, demanding justice for the victims of

, which left 192 dead and more than 6 500 injured.

Counter-demonstration ...

The supercharged protesters tried to force the roadblocks, causing the army to shoot in the air to push them back.

A few hundred meters further, a crowd of supporters of Michel Aoun gathered on the road leading to the presidential palace to "defend the dignity" of the head of state, according to a spokesperson for the demonstrators.

The main concern of the security forces was to prevent any contact between the two groups in order to avoid clashes.

Despite this, clashes took place in some neighborhoods.

The supporters of Michel Aoun left the scene first.

The army then worked to disperse groups of staunch anti-power demonstrators who were throwing stones at the police.

Calm returned in the evening, but the military deployment remained massive on the road to the presidential palace.

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• Lebanon

• Michel Aoun