Yesterday, the Lebanese army announced the injury of 81 soldiers and the arrest of 20 people, during the implementation of the tasks of maintaining security in the country. The army leadership said in a press statement reported by the National Information Agency: Lebanese territory, and as a result of the riots that took place in Al-Nour Square - Tripoli, 50 soldiers were wounded, including six officers.
The statement pointed out that the army units arrested 19 people for throwing crackers, throwing stones at the patrol, rioting, burning banks and a number of ATMs, and another person was arrested for firing on the demonstrators, which resulted in the injury of one of them.
According to the statement, a patrol was stoned by demonstrators in the Al-Bahsas area - Tripoli, which resulted in the injury of two soldiers, and a mechanism that was damaged.
The statement indicated that 29 soldiers in Beirut, Saida, and the coastal highway were injured, due to army patrols being pelted with stones, while trying to reopen some roads, and the army leadership reiterated the need to maintain the peacefulness of the demonstration.
To that, the governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, defended himself yesterday, rejecting criticism from the Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, who blamed him for the financial crisis, and assured the safety of savers that there is no need to reduce the value of deposits.
Salameh said that the Lebanese Central Bank did not hide information, and that financial engineering policies helped Lebanon gain time to undertake reforms and finance important imports.
"While the bank funded the government, it was the government that spent the money," Salameh said in a televised speech.
For his part, Diab said that the government’s economic and financial plan will be studied this week, explaining during his meeting yesterday with a delegation from the Association of Banks, headed by Salim Sfeir, that the association will be informed of the plan after its approval.
The delegation asserted that the association will present to the government its plan for economic and financial solutions, within a maximum of 15 days, and the association expressed its “strong condemnation of the continuous infringements on private and public property, especially the headquarters and branches of banks”, pointing out that it is “unacceptable and unjustified actions by all standards”, calling Diab to work to stop them as soon as possible.
Lebanon has been witnessing popular protests for days because of the difficult living conditions and the high exchange rate of the dollar against the Lebanese pound.
The governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon defends himself and rejects Diab's criticism.