On Saturday evening, a person tried to burn himself during a demonstration in downtown Beirut, according to the Lebanese Red Cross, before protesters intervened to put out the fire that broke out in his legs in a country experiencing economic collapse and a protest movement against the political class.
In the Riad al-Solh square in front of the government buildings in Beirut, the man was seen lying on the ground, with burn marks appearing on his legs, as the protesters put a sheet on him before the Lebanese Red Cross car drove him in his full awareness.
"A person who burnt himself and a Lebanese Red Cross team was responding to the incident," the Red Cross said in a tweet on Twitter.
According to the official National Information Agency, the person concerned was in "the middle of the fifth decade of life", and had "poured gasoline on his body" before setting him alight.
An eyewitness in Riyadh Al-Solh Square narrated the details of what happened, when the protester deliberately set himself ablaze.
In an interview with a local media, he indicated that the man announced his desire to burn himself since the morning, and the sit-in people in the square tried to prevent him from that and promised him to help him and his children, but he carried out his holiday in the evening and used gasoline and suddenly set his body ablaze.
Suicide incidents have increased recently in Lebanon due to the deteriorating economic conditions and the accumulation of debts.
At the beginning of this month, he accumulated Lebanese debts to commit suicide after he found himself unable to pay them and secure the needs of his family, according to his relative.
In February, a Lebanese man in the North Koura region burned himself inside a schoolyard, due to his inability to pay for his daughter's education.
Lebanon is facing an economic collapse that is likely to worsen in light of an acute liquidity crisis, with two prices for the exchange of the dollar and a sharp rise in commodity prices.
Thousands of Lebanese are now finding themselves threatened with losing their jobs or have been deducted from their salaries.