Diplomats: Security Council to Hear Briefing on Lebanon Protests

The U.N. Security Council is expected to hold an emergency session on Wednesday to discuss anti-government protests that have rattled Lebanon in the past two weeks, diplomats said.

One of the diplomats told An Nahar newspaper that the Council will hear a briefing from U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag via video conference on the latest developments in the country, mainly the protests against the political class.

It was not clear, however, if the Council would issue a statement on the demonstrations.

Another diplomat told the daily that the department headed by U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who is a former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, called for Tuesday's session.

Angry protests that suddenly erupted last month over the government's failure to deal with the garbage crisis have evolved into the most serious anti-government demonstrations in Lebanon in years.

The protesters seek to challenge the political class that has dominated Lebanon and undermined its growth since its civil war ended in 1990.

The waste crisis erupted when the Naameh landfill that lies south of Beirut was closed on July 17.