Party supporters stir violence for the second time in a row
- Amal Movement and Hezbollah supporters swarmed downtown Beirut late Monday night, where they torched cars, lit tyres on fire, and hurled stones at the police who in turn dispersed them with tear gas. In Nabatiye, Baalbeck, and Sidon, assailants ambushed protest sites, burning tents.
- The party supporters said they were responding to an inflammatory video online that insulted Imam Ali, and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. The man who filmed the video, a Lebanese resident of Greece, later apologized, claiming his video was meant for an acquaintance with whom he had had a dispute. The acquaintance was called in for questioning.
Protest in Nabatiye met with party violence
- Protesters from Nabatiye and Kfar Ruman organized a march on Tuesday evening to denounce the previous night’s attacks on their tents by Hezbollah and Amal Movement party supporters. Protesters waved and chanted against establishment parties, including Speaker Nabih Berri.
- Upon arriving to Kfar Rumman’s protest square, demonstrators were attacked by Amal Movement supporters. They hurled rocks and insults at protesters, burning tents as well, as security forces intervened.
- Sources on the ground reported multiple injuries.
On two month anniversary, protests continue and barricade Installed
- As protesters around Lebanon assessed the damages of Monday night’s attacks, they continued their demonstrations in Tripoli, Sidon, Baalbeck, Nabatiye, Beirut and other regions.
- In Beirut, protesters disrupted a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce headed by Caretaker Telecommunications Minister Mohamad Choucair and denounced his proposal to privatize the telecommunication sector.
- Meanwhile, security forces installed a permanent meter—high steel barricade at the main entrance of Nejmeh Square where parliament is located.
Bassil attends Global Refugee Forum in Geneva
- Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil led a delegation to the annual Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. The forum aims to discuss ways to support refugees and their host communities.
- In his speech, Bassil claimed that Syrian refugees in Lebanon were one of the factors to blame for the collapse of the economy, stating that “one country’s economy cannot handle the costs of two peoples,” and asked for support in order to avert a Lebanese refugee crisis.
- Deutsche Welle journalist Iaafar Abdul Karim’s phone was confiscated by Bassil’s security team while trying to interview the foreign minister, according to a tweet by Abdul Karim.
Amer Fakhoury moved to hospital
- Amer Fakhoury, the former commander of the Israeli-proxy militia South Lebanon Army who committed atrocities in the Khiam prison, has been moved to a hospital in Beirut after he reportedly lost a significant amount of weight and was diagnosed with cancer.
- Earlier this morning a sit-in was held in front of the Military Tribunal in Beirut to protest his transfer to the hospital for medical reasons, and denouncing US pressure to call for his release.
- This comes amid foreign pressures to release Fakhoury.
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