The Lebanese authorities have sent significant army and police forces to the center of the capital to restore calm on its streets. According to a statement from the Lebanese Red Cross Society, at least 45 people were injured in clashes between security forces and demonstrators, seven of them were sent to a hospital.
Activists of the protest movement again tried to make their way to the Place de l'Étoile to capture the parliamentary palace. They were encouraged by the resignation of the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced on Monday. Now opposition leaders are demanding the dissolution of the legislature and early general elections. They are also seeking an international investigation into the explosion at the seaport of Beirut, which caused numerous casualties and destruction.
"The authorities have done the minimum, they have dismissed the Prime Minister, and now they will try to create a government of new individuals instead of carrying out the fundamental reforms that the people demand," says activist Tony Hashem. "We demand the resignation of the entire political class, which is mired in corruption."
Investigation of the explosion
The Lebanon Debate news portal claims that one of the reasons for the government's resignation was its internal split over the participation of international experts in the investigation of the tragedy at the seaport of Beirut. "The past five days of work of the investigators from a special government commission gave zero results," the portal said. Earlier, the Interior Minister Mohamed Fahmy said that Lebanon did not need to involve international experts in the investigation, referring to the fact that the competence of the Lebanese investigative and judicial authorities did not cause him doubts.
A powerful explosion at the warehouse in the port of Beirut occurred on August 4. The blast wave destroyed and damaged hundreds of homes, and more than 300 thousand people were left homeless. At least 164 people were killed, about 6 thousand were injured, and dozens are missing. According to the Lebanese Interior Ministry, the cause of the tragedy was a fire that occurred during welding operations near 2.7 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate, confiscated by customs six years ago.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zuma \ TASS
Based on materials from TASS