Clashes erupt in Beirut at 'You Stink' trash protest

At least eight people were injured on Saturday when clashes erupted in central Beirut between Lebanese security forces and demonstrators calling for a solution to weeks of uncollected rubbish.

Thousands of protesters rallied to protest against the government's inability to clean up the capital and other parts of Lebanon where the streets are overflowing with rubbish.

Organised by the "You Stink" campaign, the demonstrators gathered in Riad al-Solh Square near the parliament building and chanted slogans against the government and political leaders.

Some protesters threw water bottles and firecrackers at security forces who had set up barricades and barbed-wire to prevent people from approaching parliament, an AFP photographer said.

Demonstrators tried to pull down the barricades in an attempt to storm parliament and security forces retaliated with tear gas and water cannons.

Some protesters were also beaten with batons.

"At least eight people have been wounded, with several kinds of injuries. There is one person in critical condition," said Iyad Munzer, spokesman for the Lebanese Red Cross.
He said both security forces and civilians were among the injured, and that ambulances were responding to reports of additional injuries.

Shots were heard in the city centre, but it was not immediately clear if it was live fire, blanks, or rubber bullets.

Most of the protesters left when the demonstrations turned violent, the AFP photographer said.

In comments to the Al-Jadeed news network, Interior Minister Nuhad Mashnuq said he had ordered security forces to hold their fire.

"I'm not in the country, but as of ten minutes ago I gave the order for the security forces to stop firing," Mashnuq said.

He pledged that those who had fired on protesters "would be held accountable".

The "You Stink" campaign has staged several protests calling for a comprehensive solution to the waste problem which erupted after Lebanon's largest landfill closed on July 17.

Since then, some municipalities have collected rubbish but then disposed of it at illegal dump sites.
Source: AFP