Demonstrators Block Roads in Protest at Dire Economy

Demonstrators blocked roads through Lebanon on Monday and late on Sunday, despite a lockdown and curfew imposed because of the coronavirus.

Police quickly intervened to reopen the highways where the demonstrators burned tyres to block roads protesting against the dire economic conditions.

They gathered in Zouk Mosbeh, Beirut’s Martyr's Square and Naameh where they burned tyres.

Tyres were also burned on the Jbeil highway, said VDL (93.3) radio station.

The Lebanese army scuffled with protesters in Zouk Mosbeh.

Late on Sunday in Zalqa sector, northeast of Beirut, six people were injured, Lebanese Red Cross official Rodney Eid told AFP without providing further details.

An AFP photographer saw protesters setting tyres ablaze on the highway north of the capital, in the suburbs of Dbaiyeh, before the army and police moved in.

Protesters also mobilized in the main northern city of Tripoli, according to ANI.

And south of Beirut, young people set tyres ablaze on the Damour highway, the agency said.

Protesters have staged several daytime demonstrations recently, including a convoy of cars in the capital last week, despite the coronavirus lockdown and nighttime curfew.

A nationwide protest movement erupted in October last year, with hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating against the ruling elite and the rampant graft critics say has brought the economy to its knees.

Lebanon's worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war is now compounded by the coronavirus lockdown. Poverty has risen to 45 percent of the population, according to official estimates.

Its economy is forecast to contract 12 percent in 2020, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The Lebanese pound has also plummeted against the dollar, resulting in high inflation.