On the fourth day of protests against the handling of the pandemic, angry crowds gathered outside the residences in Tripoli of influential Lebanese politicians on Thursday, torching dumpsters and smashing surveillance cameras.
The demonstrators threw molotov cocktails at the end of the day in the premises of the town hall of the city, causing a violent fire, according to the national press agency.
“We want to burn down their house as they burnt our hearts,” said Omar Qarhani, father of six children.
“They have shamed this city,” adds the 42-year-old unemployed, referring to political leaders.
For the demonstrators, the repeated confinements, in particular that in force since January 14, one of the strictest in the world, were the coup de grace in a country which is experiencing its worst economic crisis since the end of the civil war ( 1975-1990).
The context has been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic and has resulted in entire segments of the population below the poverty line.
The municipality building in Tripoli, #Lebanon has been torched tonight during the 4th straight day of riots over economic hardship made worse by a #COVID lockdown.
pic.twitter.com/0FioGTQTtk
- Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) January 28, 2021
Tripoli, Lebanon's second city and one of the poorest in the country, has been the scene since Monday of violent night clashes between the security forces and demonstrators.
They are overwhelmed by health restrictions and an ever-deepening economic crisis.
“May any politician dare to walk the streets of Tripoli!
"
With more than half of its inhabitants living below the poverty line, the northern city was one of the epicenters of the unprecedented protest movement unleashed in October 2019 across the country against a ruling class accused of corruption and incompetence.
“May any politician dare to walk the streets of Tripoli!
», Omar Qarhani defiantly launches in the midst of a hundred demonstrators gathered in front of the house of a politician in this city.
After three evenings of violent clashes which left one dead and more than 300 injured, around a hundred people pounded the pavement again on Thursday, stopping successively in front of various residences of political leaders from the city and trying to enter before d 'be prevented by the army.
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Protesters threw stones at surveillance cameras in the area, destroying several of them.
Military vehicles followed in step the demonstrators, mostly hooded.
It was to block the advance of these vehicles that protesters overturned dumpsters on the track.
102 injured
In the middle of a compact crowd gathered in front of the house of the deputy Fayçal Karamé, Adnan Abdallah launched in a diatribe against the leaders originating in the city, some of whom are classified among the billionaires of the planet.
"We are targeting the homes of politicians because they are responsible for the situation in which Lebanon finds itself today," he says.
And to deplore: “Our leaders have been the same for 30 years.
They have ruined the future of our youth and brought our country to ruin.
"
In front of the house of Samir al-Jisr, another Member of Parliament for Tripoli and former Minister of Justice, demonstrators started a fire which was quickly extinguished by the security forces.
"Why are you protecting them?
», They shouted to the address of the security forces and the soldiers deployed in reinforcement.
The clashes Thursday evening between demonstrators and security forces left at least 102 injured including five hospitalized, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.