The army commander stresses the seriousness of the situation and the possibility of its explosion
Demonstrators renew roadblocks in Lebanon to protest the economic and political crises
One of the demonstrators raises the victory sign in Beirut.
EPA
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The demonstrators renewed blocking roads in several Lebanese regions yesterday, in protest against the continued deterioration of the value of the Lebanese pound and the political stalemate in the country.
While the Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, warned that the soldiers should not be drawn into the political deadlock, and stressed the right to peaceful protest, he also stressed the seriousness of the situation and the possibility of it exploding.
Since yesterday morning, dozens of protesters have closed several roads in the north of the country, especially in Tripoli, and in the Bekaa, in the east.
Security and military forces opened a number of main roads, while cutting the two expressways leading to Beirut from the north and south caused a stifling traffic jam.
Unlike the day before yesterday, when the movement began to close most of the entrances to the capital, no major roads were closed in Beirut.
The road blockage movement escalated over the past few days, after the lira recorded an unprecedented record low since Lebanon entered the cycle of economic collapse a year and a half ago.
The exchange rate against the dollar approached the threshold of 11 thousand on the black market.
The day before yesterday, the roads continued to be closed throughout the day, under several slogans, including "the day of anger."
The army worked to open some of them, but the protesters closed others through tires and smoldering waste, or by placing their cars in the middle of the road.
In some areas, supporters of some parties participated in the movements on the ground.
Officials in the authority accuse rival parties of being behind the protests.
Since the summer of 2019, Lebanon has been witnessing its worst economic crises, which led to the currency losing more than 80% of its value, exacerbating inflation rates, and causing tens of thousands to lose their jobs and sources of income.
Despite the weight of the economic crisis, political efforts and international pressure did not bear the formation of a new government.
President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri exchange accusations of obstruction and setting counter-conditions.
Although Aoun asked the army and security forces, the day before yesterday, to remove the roadblocks that protesters had put up to block roads, and described blocking the roads as a "sabotage" act, the army commander, General Joseph Aoun, warned that the soldiers should not be drawn into the political deadlock.
President Aoun called for the opening of roads throughout the country, after a meeting with senior officials, while the army commander held a separate meeting with the military leaders, in which he stressed the right to peaceful protest, and the army commander, General Joseph Aoun, criticized sectarian politicians in Lebanon for their dealings with The crisis, warning of the instability of the security situation, and stressed that the military officers are part of the Lebanese society, which suffers from economic difficulties.
"The military are suffering and starving like the people," he said.
The army commander directed his speech to the officials, saying, “Where are we going?
What do you intend to do? We have warned more than once about the seriousness of the situation and the possibility of it exploding. ”
General Joseph Aoun warned of the army’s involvement in political quarrels, and said: “If some aim to strike the army and its forces, they know that the overabundance of the army means the end of the entity, this thing is impossible to happen.
The army is holding together, and the experience of the 75 does not and will not be repeated. ”
A political source said that tension between the Lebanese president and the army chief increased after the request to open the roads.
The National News Agency reported that a number of activists organized a stand in solidarity with the army in front of the National Museum in Beirut yesterday, and raised the army's flags and called for a national rally around it.
The army has long been described as almost the only institution on which the Lebanese people agree.
Its collapse at the start of the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990, when it was divided along sectarian lines, led to the country falling under the control of militias.
In Tire, in the south, a man tried to burn himself after he poured petrol on his body, but the Civil Defense stopped him in time, according to the National Information Agency.
In Tripoli, one of the poorest cities in Lebanon, located in the north, the demonstrators erected a brick wall, one meter high, to prevent cars from crossing, but they left room for passage in emergency situations.
After the Beirut port explosion, which destroyed entire regions in the capital last August, the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned, and the conduct of business continues, but Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is at odds with President Aoun, and has been unable to form a new government that will implement the reforms required to disburse international aid. .
Last Saturday, Diab threatened to refrain from performing his duties, to pressure politicians to form a new government.
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