BEIRUT: Lebanon increased security around protest centres in central Beirut on Wednesday, after several nights of violence disrupted two months of largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations.
Barricades were erected overnight to block or control access to protest sites in the capital where counterdemonstrators have previously tried to attack protesters.
An officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the concrete barriers were intended to help security forces better control the sites and prevent further clashes.
After violence between protesters and security forces in Beirut on Saturday and Sunday night, and between counterdemonstrators and police on Monday night, the capital remained calm on Tuesday.
But tensions were recorded elsewhere in the country, as Lebanon awaits scheduled parliamentary meetings to name a new premier on Thursday, a required step to form a cabinet. The unprecedented protests started on October 17 against a political elite deemed inept and corrupt. Protesters demand a complete overhaul of the ruling class and a new government formed of independent experts.— AFP
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