Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab accused unnamed parties of sowing discord and encouraging riots, and central bank governor Riad Salameh rejected accusations of him being responsible for the collapse of the lira, while Human Rights Watch condemned the army's use of force against demonstrators.
During a session of the Lebanese government, Diab said that there are parties that are trying to incite and distort popular movements and burn the country, considering that what is happening in the streets of Tripoli and others "is not innocent."
He pointed to the presence of what he called a deliberate destruction of institutions, and that there are those who seek discord between the army and the people, as he put it.
Diab added that there are full reports of those who incite the riots, stressing that they will be transferred to the judiciary.
The Lebanese Prime Minister stated that the agencies have the names of all the people who burn institutions and destroy public and private properties, and concluded by saying, "If the parties continue to incite, we will say things by their names."
Earlier in the day, Salama said that the bank’s budget is in line with the international standards of central banks, denying that the spending policy is unilateral and limited to it.
Salameh described the accusations leveled against him with slandering and misleading public opinion, after accusations leveled against him by the Prime Minister and a number of officials.
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Excessive Force
On the other hand, Aya Majzoub, a researcher on Lebanon and Bahrain affairs at Human Rights Watch, said that Tripoli is one of the poorest cities in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government has not guaranteed people's right to food and other necessities of life.
Aya denounced "the army's use of deadly force", considering that it aggravated the situation and caused the killing of a young man who was demanding his rights.
Tripoli, Saida and other cities have been witnessing popular demonstrations since days in protest of the high exchange rate of the dollar, which amounted to more than four thousand Lebanese pounds, and the difficult living conditions, including riots, burning banks and confrontations with the security forces and the army.