The injuries resulting from the clashes that took place between the Lebanese security forces and demonstrators in front of the parliament headquarters in the center of the capital, Beirut, increased to 49, among them a security component.
Hundreds of Lebanese demonstrated in the Martyrs Square and in front of the parliament headquarters in downtown Beirut, to reject the economic conditions that are hanging over the country, and to demand early parliamentary elections.
The Lebanese Red Cross said - in a tweet on Twitter - that the outcome of a demonstration in downtown Beirut is 48 wounded: 11 were taken to the region's hospitals, 37 were treated on the spot, and one riot police was injured after protesters threw stones at the security forces in front of the parliament entrance.
For its part, the security forces said in a tweet that the private and public properties are being exposed, "Therefore, the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces requests peaceful citizens to withdraw from the places where riots are taking place, in order to preserve their safety."
The demonstrators raised slogans rejecting the living and economic conditions that the country has reached, with the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar, and in protest against the widespread cost of daily consumables for the Lebanese citizen.
In the Ain al-Rummaneh area east of Beirut, groups affiliated with Hezbollah entered the area, chanting slogans and provocative slogans, and threw stones at the people of the area, which resulted in skirmishes between the two parties.
Immediately, the Lebanese army intervened to separate the elements affiliated with the party from the people of Ain al-Rummaneh, which restored calm in the area.
The move in downtown Beirut is the first after the authorities eased earlier this week the general closure restrictions imposed since the middle of last March to combat the Covid-19 epidemic, and led to a decline in the number of anti-authority movements.
Children march in Tripoli
Concurrently, a march of children roamed the streets of the city, launched from Abdel Hamid Karami Square in Tripoli (north). Dozens of young men protested in the square, coinciding with the launch of groups of protesters towards Beirut to participate in the "martyrs square" movement.
It is noteworthy that the protest demonstrations were launched in Lebanon on October 17 in the center of Beirut, following a decision by the government to impose a tax on the application of "WhatsApp", and the demonstrations soon spread to all Lebanese regions.
The demonstrations forced the government of Saad Hariri to resign on the 29th of the same month, and the protesters demanded to address the economic situation, recover the looted funds, and hold the corrupt accountable, and an independent judiciary.