15 shares
Lebanese soldiers pass burned tires as they clash with protesters, during a protest against deteriorating living conditions and strict coronavirus lockdown measures, in Tripoli, Lebanon, January 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
AFP More than 400 people have been wounded in northern Lebanon this week in clashes between security forces and protesters angered by a coronavirus lockdown they say is starving them.
What is behind the escalating tensions in the main northern city of Tripoli, and is Lebanon heading towards mass social unrest as anger mounts over government mismanagement of the country’s many crises?
Cocktail of crises
Since 2019, Lebanon has grappled with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Beirut: More than 400 people have been wounded in northern Lebanon this week in clashes between security forces and protesters angered by a coronavirus lockdown they say is starving them.
What is behind the escalating tensions in the main northern city of Tripoli, and is Lebanon heading towards mass social unrest as anger mounts over government mismanagement of the country’s many crises?
Cocktail of crises
Since 2019, Lebanon has grappled with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
More than half the population now lives below the poverty line, according to the United Nations, while the Lebanese pound has lost more than 80 per cent of its value against the dollar on the black market.
Lebanon has recorded 293,157 coronavirus cases and 2,621 deaths since February last year.
This month it recorded one of the world’s steepest per-capita surges in infections, forcing authorities to impose a full lockdown until February 8.
The restrictions include a round-the-clock curfew, with grocery shopping only allowed through deliveries.
With day labourers making up around half of Lebanon’s workforce, the restrictions have prompted alarm.
“We are very concerned that vulnerable families and their children will be left to deal with a catastrophe on their own,” the Save the Children charity has said.
To ease the burden, the World Bank has approved emergency aid worth $246 million to help 786,000 Lebanese.
Friday, 29 January, 2021 - 12:15
Rioting has rocked Lebanon s second city of Tripoli for four straight nights, with protesters torching the provincial government headquarters and targeting the homes of leading politicians - AFP Asharq Al-Awsat
More than 400 people have been wounded in northern Lebanon this week in clashes between security forces and protesters angered by a coronavirus lockdown they say is starving them.
What is behind the escalating tensions in the main northern city of Tripoli, and is Lebanon heading towards mass social unrest as anger mounts over government mismanagement of the country s many crises?
Since 2019, Lebanon has grappled with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.