Protests continue as Lebanese Hassan Diab threatens to stop work

IslamNews – Protesters have blocked roadways across Lebanon for the fifth day in a row, setting fire to tyres and pieces of furniture as Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab threatened to stop performing his duties to pressure politicians to form a new government.

In the Lebanese capital, a small group of protesters in front of the banking association demanded access to their deposits, and then walked to the Parliament building in downtown Beirut to express their frustration, As Aljazeera reported.

In Tripoli, Lebanon’s poorest city, protesters blocked several roads and staged a sit-in at a roundabout near the city port, calling for the resignation of all political officials, according to the official National News Agency. Demonstrators also blocked roads linking the cities of Tripoli, Minnieh and Akkar, using trucks, water tanks, rubbish containers and stones.

The renewed protests on Saturday came amid anger about the collapse of the Lebanese pound, which fell to a new low of 10,000 to the dollar on Tuesday. The currency crash has resulted in a sharp increase in prices, as well as delays in the arrival of fuel shipments, leading to more extended power cuts around the country, in some areas lasting more than 12 hours a day.

Source: Aljazeera