Anger continues to roar in Lebanon. Demonstrators clashed Sunday, August 9, with Lebanese security forces blocking access to an artery leading to the Chamber of Deputies, on the second day of a protest movement following the explosion that killed Tuesday near of 160 people in Beirut.
Like the day before, thousands of demonstrators converged on Parliament Square, located not far from Martyrs Square. "We want the whole government to go away," said Yousseff Dour, a protester.
Images released by the Lebanese media show that an entrance to the Parliament was set on fire. Several demonstrators also managed to enter the ministries of housing and transport.
In Weygand Street, near the parliament, in downtown Beirut, the anti-power demonstrators are back
Images @MichelHe pic.twitter.com/JfELnWptWh
On Saturday, the headquarters of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Energy and the Economy were stormed while the premises of the Association of Lebanese Banks were ransacked.
A government under pressure
The consequences of this challenge are already being felt: the Lebanese Minister of Information, Manal Abdel Samad, announced her resignation on Sunday, which she explained by the inability of the government to implement reforms and by the disaster that occurred Tuesday at the port of Beirut.
According to the daily L'Orient-Le Jour, which relays press information, other ministers could follow his example and it is not excluded that the government resigns en bloc on Monday after the Council of Ministers.
On Sunday, the patriarch of the Maronite Christian Church of Lebanon, Bechara Boutros al-Rai, called on the Lebanese government to resign if it proves unable to reform the way it governs.
At the same time, international aid is being organized. The emergency aid collected on Sunday during a video conference and co-organized by France and the UN to come to the aid of Lebanon amounts to 257.2 million euros, according to the Elysee. This sum will be paid quickly in order to meet the immediate needs of the Lebanese population. Of this amount, 30 million euros will be provided by France.
Read also >> Explosions in Beirut: "My city is destroyed but I am proud to be Lebanese"
With AFP and Reuters
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