LONDON (Reuters) - Demonstrations in several parts of Lebanon denounced street clashes and demanded political and economic reform, while the gas station owners' union said the stations would begin an open-ended nationwide strike on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army succeeded in restoring calm to the road between the southern and eastern suburbs of Beirut, after a confrontation in the area early Wednesday between supporters of Hezbollah and Amal on the one hand, and supporters of the Lebanese Forces and the Phalange Party on the other.
While the Lebanese economic authorities decided to suspend the strike, which was scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the union of owners of gas stations announced an open strike starting from Thursday morning.
The union attributed the strike decision - in a statement broadcast by the National Information Agency - to the losses caused by the high cost of the measure of the dollar - necessary for the import of fuel - in the parallel market.
The value of the Lebanese pound in the parallel market - the sole source of the dollar for most importers since the outbreak of protests - has plunged by about 40 percent below the official rate.
In the parallel market, the lira exchange rate against the dollar has crossed the 2000 threshold from 1507 pegged decades ago. This is alarming for depositors and suppliers who are unable to provide the dollar for import from abroad.
The Lebanese economic authorities, a group representing the private sector, including industrialists and bankers, canceled a separate three-day strike that began on Thursday, justifying its decision on the difficult economic conditions and the need for employees to receive wages at the end of the month.
In the wake of a liquidity crisis that began months ago as banks set a ceiling for dollar withdrawals, the value of which has been gradually reduced and aggravated by tight restrictions this month on remittances to the dollar, demonstrators demand radical solutions and hold the central bank responsible for the country's wrong fiscal policies.
Protests have been ravaging Lebanon since October 17, putting pressure on its financial system, exacerbating a hard currency crisis that has eroded the ability of many importers to bring in goods.