Protesting taxi drivers block key roads across Lebanon

Protesting taxi drivers on Tuesday blocked several vital roads and highways across the country to voice a host of demands.

The drivers blocked the Saifi road, the Beirut-Karantina highway, the Jounieh highway and the main Hamra street following a sit-in at the Riad al-Solh Square.

The protesters decried “the continued chaos in the sector and the deterioration of living conditions,” calling on authorities to crack down on “violators, drivers with fake license plates and bikers who transport passengers on their motorcycles.”

They also called for banning Syrian drivers, tuk-tuks and those who operate through “WhatsApp groups” and “illegal applications.”

In a statement issued Monday, the drivers had apologized to “the citizens who will be stranded in their cars,” explaining that they no longer have “any other choice.”