Pro, Anti-Assad Protesters Rally in Riad Solh, Disperse Peacefully

A number of activists describing themselves as “independent intellectuals” on Monday staged a march in Beirut in solidarity with the Syrian people, state-run National News Agency reported.

Shouting slogans in support of the Syrian people, demonstrators marched from Beirut’s Mathaf district towards the government’s headquarters at the Grand Serail in downtown Beirut, amid tight security measures, NNA said.

Some demonstrators carried Syrian flags while others carried banners condemning the Syrian regime’s crackdown on the protest movement. They observed a moment of silence to mourn the victims of the Syrian revolt upon their arrival at the Riad Solh Square in downtown Beirut, NNA added.

Meanwhile, “a number of supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime arrived at the Riad Solh Square in three buses, carrying Syrian flags and pictures of Assad,” the agency said.

Security forces formed a human wall to prevent any clashes between the two demos, which both dispersed around 7:00 pm without incident, NNA added.