Public anger against fuel shortages
- Demonstrators blocked roads in Beirut, Sidon, Bekaa, Tripoli, and Akkar to protest fuel shortages after gas stations went on strike. Taxi drivers rallied in Cola earlier in the day to decry the strike.
- Motorists have reportedly run out of gas in the middle of roads while others have purposefully left their cars in the streets in protest. The price of fuel in the black market has more than doubled its normal rate.
- After the Caretaker Minister of Energy Nada Boustani announced on Thursday that fuel would be imported within 10 to 15 days following the evaluation of bids on Monday, the Syndicate announced the strike is still ongoing Sources told LBCI that Boustani is negotiating a compromise with gas station owners. Late evening, Medco and Phoenicia announced that they would resume operations.
Protesters target state institutions on day 44
- For the second morning, protesters blocked the entrance of the Finance Ministry's VAT building in Beirut. security forces arrived in large numbers, pushing protesters away and forcibly clearing the entrance.
- Protesters in Nabatieh, Beirut, and Zahle rallied outside the Central Bank. Others blocked roads in Halba, shut down Electricite du Liban in Chouf, and formed a barricade around Ogero and the Mount Lebanon Water Establishment in Shehim.
- Meanwhile, protesters organized mass rallies in Baalbeck's Al Motran Square, raising Lebanese flags and chanting in support of the revolution.
Free Patriotic Movement supporters organize anti-refugee rally
- A Group of Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) supporters rallied in front of the European Union (EU) Embassy in Beirut under the "Damj/Damage" campaign, chanting, "We don't want any [group of] people here other than Lebanese." The campaign denounces the alleged plans to naturalize refugees and calls for the deportation of Syrian refugees.
- In response to the Damj/Damage campaign, a group of protesters organized an anti-racist demonstration also in front of the EU embassy, in solidarity with refugees. They held a banner stating: "our revolution is against the oppressor, not the oppressed. Refugees are not your enemy." They also chanted, "we are not speaking about naturalization; we are speaking about refugee rights."
- The EU later released a statement reiterating that it "has never advocated for the settlement or integration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon."
Woman's violent arrest goes viral
- Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested a young woman, Dana Hammoud, in front of a gas station near Beirut's Central Bank. Videos purported to show her getting into a heated altercation with several IFS officers, leading to her arrest.
- She has since been transferred to el-Helou barracks. Lawyers were barred from entering and MP Paula Yacoubian arrived to lobby for Hammond's release.
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