Protests against growing economic hardship erupted in Tripoli and spread to other Lebanese cities on Tuesday, with banks set ablaze after a night of rioting that left one demonstrator dead, according to security and medical sources.
A demonstrator is seen near a bank on fire during unrest, as an economic crisis brings demonstrations back onto the streets in Tripoli, Lebanon April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim
Later on Tuesday protesters in the southern city of Sidon chanting “revolution” hurled petrol bombs at a central bank building, setting its exterior on fire before smashing the fronts of several banks. “We are faced with a new reality, a reality that the social and living crisis has made worse at record speed, especially with the rise of the U.S. dollar exchange rate to record levels on the black market,” Diab said in a statement.
Diab’s government, formed in January with the support of the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah, has struggled to enact reforms demanded by foreign donors to release billions of dollars in pledged financing. The army said a firebomb was thrown at one of its vehicles and a hand grenade hurled at a patrol. It blamed “infiltrators” and called on peaceful protesters to leave the streets.
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