Lebanese President Michel Aoun will hold a security meeting today to discuss security developments in the country. And clashes took place yesterday for the second night in a row in central Beirut between riot police and protesters demanding the government of independent professionals.

The National Media Agency stated that the security meeting to be held this afternoon will be attended by Minister of Defense Elias Abu Saab, Interior Ministry Raya Al-Hassan and leaders of the security services, in order to "discuss security developments and measures to be taken to maintain stability and calm in the country."

Calm prevails in Beirut after Sunday's confrontations, and the security forces have patrolled the streets surrounding the parliament in the center of the capital, and the specialized teams have removed the effects of the confrontations and cleaned the area, and the Lebanese Red Cross and Civil Defense said that their medical teams transferred fifty 50 injured to hospitals, and treated 67 others in the field .

The origin of the clash
The demonstrators had gathered yesterday night in the vicinity of the parliament building to demand the formation of a government of independent specialists, before some demonstrators began throwing stones, empty cans and crackers on the security forces, which responded with the use of gas bombs, rubber bullets and water cannons.

Among the wounded yesterday was the Al-Jazeera correspondent in Beirut, Ihab Al-Aqdi, who was hit with a rubber bullet while covering the confrontations, and the Red Cross teams have provided field treatment to the reporter.

In the video: A call from a riot officer through the loudspeaker was warning rioters to stop the attacks before using force # security forces pic.twitter.com/UbRYDteByH

- Internal Security Forces (@LebISF) January 19, 2020

Yesterday's clashes between protesters and security were described as the fiercest since the popular movement demanding the departure of the ruling political class and political and economic reforms launched on October 17 last year.

The popular protests in Lebanon regained their momentum last week after a period of apathy in the previous period, as on Tuesday and Wednesday there were violent clashes between security and demonstrators who smashed banks ’façades and threw stones towards the security forces that used heavily tear gas.

Lebanese politicians have been unable to form a new government, or to devise a plan to save the country since the protests began three months ago, which prompted Saad Hariri to resign as prime minister.

Sequence of events
It is noteworthy that the protests erupted in early October 2019 due to the government's intention to pass a new budget 2020 that includes tax increases, and the protests that prompted the government to cancel these increases, but that the daily demonstration continued to express popular anger at the spread of corruption in state agencies, and ill Management and deteriorating the living situation in the country.

On December 19, President Michel Aoun tasked the former Minister of Education, Hassan Diab, to form the new government, but the latter still faces obstacles in the authoring consultations due to the differences of political forces over the portfolios.