BEIRUT (Reuters) – Several hundred Lebanese people protested in Beirut on Sunday over the state of Lebanon’s economy and politics with some demonstrators briefly blocking several main roads in the capital. The majority of the protesters gathered near the government headquarters where some wore yellow vests echoing France’s “yellow vest” protests of recent weeks. Some later spilled into streets around Beirut, with trash cans set ablaze on one main road where a scuffle occurred between demonstrators and soldiers seeking to open the way, the Lebanese National News Agency reported. An army statement called for “peaceful protest and not attacking public and private property”. The World Bank says the latest available official poverty rate shows that nearly one third of Lebanese are poor.

Source: Egypt Independent December 24, 2018 09:10 UTC