The center of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, witnessed today, Saturday, a march protesting the deteriorating economic and social conditions in the country, while the number of those injured in the confrontations in Tripoli since the evening of yesterday, Thursday, rose to 85, including eight soldiers.
Today's rally came in response to an invitation from leftist and nationalist parties and groups of the popular movement, and the participants condemned the financial collapse in the country, and demanded the formation of a national rescue government with legislative powers, and the holding of early parliamentary elections.
The participants held banners calling for the prosecution of those who described them as corrupt, the recovery of looted funds and the non-compliance with the conditions of the International Monetary Fund.
In the north of Tripoli, the army forces dispersed groups that tried to confiscate the contents of two trucks loaded with food.
People had attacked the trucks under the pretext of transporting foodstuffs from the city towards the Syrian lands, and that coincided with a gathering in the middle of Al-Nour Square to protest against the deteriorating living conditions.
Economic crisis
These developments came after a meeting of the Lebanese government, in the wake of which it decided to pump the dollar into the market, starting from Monday.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that the high dollar exchange rate - which was recorded on Thursday - is part of a decree that should be faced.
The dollar in Lebanon exceeded the threshold of five thousand Lebanese pounds, in one of the worst currency crises in the country.
Lebanon is witnessing the worst economic collapse in decades, coinciding with a liquidity crisis and the banks' failure to provide depositors with their money in dollars.
The crisis caused an increase in the rate of inflation and made nearly half of the population below the poverty line, as tens of thousands lost part of their salaries or jobs, and ancient institutions and hotels closed their doors.
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that what he witnessed in central Beirut on Friday night was unacceptable, and he asked the security services to take appropriate measures to stop what he called the suspicious attacks.
Former Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri, in a Tweet on Twitter, also considered that the aim of the attacks in the center of the capital is to turn public opinion against popular movements.
In a related context, Lebanese Forces Party Chairman Samir Geagea said that stopping the collapse of the lira exchange rate would not be with the intervention of the central bank, but rather by implementing reforms that start with the closure of the illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria.