Lebanon: clashes in Beirut after the renunciation of Saad Hariri
Audio 01:15
Soldiers protecting themselves from projectiles launched by demonstrators, Thursday, July 15 in Beirut.
AP - Hussein Malla
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Nine months after being appointed Prime Minister, Saad Hariri finally threw in the towel on Thursday, July 15, unable to form a government.
In the streets of the Lebanese capital, the demonstrators descended to cry out their anger, giving rise to violent clashes with the army.
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With our correspondent in Beirut,
Noé Pignède
Anger is exploding in the streets of Cola, a Sunni neighborhood in southern Beirut.
On the one hand, the army, protected by plastic shields.
On the other, hundreds of supporters of Saad Hariri, who throw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers.
A yellow helmet on his head, Firas helps the wounded.
Bitter, he watches his country fall into violence.
"
We can't take it anymore, there is nothing left, it is not Lebanon that we know
", he laments.
Firas has always lived here.
He remembers a country "
refined, where everyone was educated
".
But how can we blame these demonstrators?
“
They have no more to eat.
There is no electricity.
We can no longer put food in the fridges.
We can't even go to the supermarket anymore.
It's super expensive,
”he says again.
Hours earlier, Prime Minister designate
Saad Hariri threw in the towel
.
He was tasked in October with setting up a team capable of reforming the country, which is going through a deep economic and political crisis.
But once again, the various political parties failed to agree on the division of ministries.
And it is the Lebanese who are paying the price: after the announcement, the national currency continued to collapse as prices explode.
►
See also: In Lebanon, shortages are worsening against a backdrop of political impasse
But Firas doesn't believe these urban guerrilla scenes will solve his country's problems.
“
Fighting with the army is not going to change anything.
The army is poorer than the people.
It is the result of 50 years of corruption by the same political regime.
If there is an election next year, that won't change anything.
It's changing the diet that will make the difference,
”he says.
Gradually, the crowd pushes back the soldiers who replied with warning shots.
The boulevard is set ablaze.
It will be impossible for us to approach the demonstrators, who are throwing stones at the journalists.
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Lebanon: Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri throws in the towel