Scuffles Erupt Near Beirut Municipality

Scuffles erupted in downtown Beirut on Friday between protesters demanding the resignation of Beirut governor and mayor, and another group defending them amid heavy security deployment of anti-riot police.

Activists staged a sit-in near the municipality building shouting “Thieves, Thieves” accusing Beirut governor Ziad Shebib and Beirut mayor Jamal Itani of corruption and mismanagement.

Security forces formed a human barrier between the two groups as protesters hurled empty bottles at each other and some hurled stones reportedly injuring a woman.

“Beirut is the capital, we pay taxes but see no improvement. They robbed the funds. They are corrupt,” one protester said.

One Beirut protester pointed at the other group saying “they are not even from Beirut,” he alleged.

“We are here to protest their corruption, the wasted public funds and shady deal,” Rana Shmaitely said, “they should be ashamed.”

The three-month ongoing protests against the ruling class gained momentum Friday with protesters blocking several roads across Lebanon.

Protesters in the northern city of Tripoli blocked al-Beddawi highway on Friday protesting the detention of a group of activists the night before.

Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, while protests against corruption and mismanagement have gripped the country since October 17.