Security forces in Beirut fired tear gas and used water cannon on Saturday in clashes with protesters armed with tree branches and sign posts near Lebanon's parliament.
Emer McCarthy reports.
Security forces in Beirut fired tear gas and used water cannon in clashes with protesters armed with tree branches and sign posts near Lebanon's parliament on Saturday (January 18).
People filled the streets of the Lebanese capital again this week-- following a lull in largely peaceful protests which broke out across the country in October.
The country's Internal Security Forces said on Saturday that police in Beirut were being "violently and directly" confronted at one of the entrances to parliament.
And called on people to leave the area for their own safety.
Witnesses said they saw young men hurling stones and flower pots towards riot police, while protesters tried to push through an entrance to a heavily barricaded district of central Beirut.
Demonstrators are furious at politicians that have steered the country towards its worst economic crisis in decades.
Police have wounded dozens of people at protests in recent days, alarming human rights groups.
The unrest forced Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to resign in October.
Politicians have since failed to agree a new cabinet or rescue plan.
By Hamzeh Hadad
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