Lebanon marked the second anniversary of its defunct protest movement with a low-key demonstration in Beirut Sunday, while many stayed away amid grinding economic woes and deadly tensions over a port blast probe.

Dozens marched under rain clouds towards Martyrs' Square in central Beirut, an AFP photographer said.

Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri on Sunday described the seven people killed in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh violence as “martyrs of truth and justice.”

In a statement marking the Prophet’s Birthday, Berri also remembered the “martyrs of the port” while noting that those killed in Thursday’s clashes were killed by “treacherous snipers.”

Head of the Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad warned Sunday that there will be a price for “the Lebanese Forces’ treachery that committed a massacre on Thursday,” referring to the deadly Tayyouneh clashes.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday expressed sorrow over Thursday’s deadly incidents in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh area, expressing “warm condolences to the families of the victims” and wishing recovery for the wounded.

Social media users have heavily circulated CCTV footage showing an army soldier firing at the Hizbullah-Amal protesters in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh area from a close distance during Thursday’s deadly incidents.

The most powerful men in Lebanese politics have been in charge for decades, some since the early 1970s. They've survived civil war, assassinations, uprisings and other turmoil, hanging on to power for decades in a turbulent, unforgiving region.

Now, they're in a desperate fight to cling to positions and wealth as Lebanon takes hit after hit, grappling with one of the world's worst economic meltdowns in decades and the aftermath of an explosion that ripped through the capital a year ago, killing more than 215 people.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Saturday launched a vehement attack on Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in connection with the deadly Tayyouneh clashes, while criticizing Hizbullah and Amal over the “provocations” of their supporters in Ain el-Remmaneh.

The spokesman for relatives of those killed in last year's Beirut port blast quit on Saturday, following fears he had been intimidated into urging the dismissal of the lead investigator in the case.

Hizbullah and allies have accused Judge Tarek Bitar of political bias in his probe into the August 4, 2020 explosion that killed more than 210 people.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has described Thursday’s deadly clashes in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh-Shiyyah area an an attempt by Hizbullah to stage a “mini” May 7-like armed campaign against “Christians” with the objective of halting the probe into the Beirut port blast.

Saudi Arabia has called on Lebanon to make long-term changes after a sectarian flare-up, saying the country's leadership has failed to address structural problems.