- Title: Protests sweep Lebanon for a second day
- Date: 18th October 2019
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS IN BEIRUT SUBURB OF OUZAI, THICK BLACK SMOKE RISING FROM FIRE IN ROAD VARIOUS OF FIRES BLOCKING THE ROAD VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SITTING ON MOTORCYCLES, SMOKE RISING FROM BURNING FIRES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER IN THE BEIRUT SUBURB OF OUZAI, ALI KASSEM, SAYING: "We've lived for 30 years with their lies. They're sitting in their castles at the expense of the people, their cars are at the expense of the people... we are dying from hunger, they eat the best food, their children study in the best universities." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS SITTING ON MOTORCYCLE SURROUNDED BY BURNING TYRES VARIOUS OF BURNING TYRES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER IN THE BEIRUT SUBURB OF OUZAI, ALI KASSEM, SAYING: "People suffocated, people are dead. And then? Where to (go from here)? You don't want an uprising? This is an uprising and hopefully it will not stop." SMOKE RISING FROM FIRES BLOCKING ROAD TO BEIRUT AIRPORT, VEHICLES DRIVING VARIOUS OF BINS ON FIRE BLOCKING ROAD TO BEIRUT AIRPORT HASBAYA, LEBANON (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER IN SOUTH LEBANON, SALIM, SAYING: "We are here to say enough of this persistent theft and stealing. Enough of all of this unfair state, of all of them. We are not with anyone against someone. We are against everyone." PROTESTER PUTTING TYRES ON FIRE ARMY GATHERING NEAR PROTESTERS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERING NEAR FIRES BLOCKING ROAD PROTESTERS CHANTING ARMY SOLDIERS NEAR PROTESTERS JDEIDEH, LEBANON (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) BURNING TYRES BLOCKING ROAD PROTESTER WITH LEBANESE FLAG ARRAYED HIS FACE SITTING NEAR BLOCKED ROAD, FIRE BURNING FIRE BURNING DORA, LEBANON (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) ROAD BLOCKADE ON FIRE BEIRUT, LEBANON (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS MARCHING IN BEIRUT STREETS, CARRYING LEBANESE FLAGS VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERING OUTSIDE THE GOVERNMENT HEADQUARTERS BUILDING AND WAVING LEBANESE FLAG VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED IN STREET MANSOURIEH, LEBANON (OCTOBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SMOKE RISING OVER BEIRUT AS SEEN FROM MANSOURIEH
- Embargoed: 1st November 2019 10:40
- Keywords: Lebanon protest economy government Lebanon protests
- Location: BEIRUT, JDEIDEH, DORA, HASBAYA AND MANSOURIEH, LEBANON
- City: BEIRUT, JDEIDEH, DORA, HASBAYA AND MANSOURIEH, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1MKVUV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Protesters across Lebanon blocked roads with burning tires on Friday (October 18) and marched in Beirut for a second day in demonstrations targeting the government over an economic crisis.
Crowds of demonstrators took to the streets a day after Lebanon's biggest protest in years, where thousands of people gathered outside the government headquarters in central Beirut on Thursday evening, forcing the cabinet to backtrack on plans to raise a new tax on WhatsApp voice calls.
The unrest led Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to cancel a cabinet meeting due on Friday to discuss the 2020 draft budget. Lebanese media has said he would instead make a speech on the protests.
Protesters in Beirut said an uprising was taking place and that hopefully it would not stop in what were the second wave of nationwide protests this month.
In a country fractured along sectarian lines, the unusually wide geographic reach of these protests has been seen as a sign of deepening anger with politicians who have jointly led Lebanon into crisis.
The government, which includes nearly all of Lebanon's main parties, is struggling to implement long-delayed reforms that are seen as more vital than ever to begin resolving the crisis.
(Production: Alaa Kanaan, Ahmad El Kerdi, Karamallah Daher, Mohamed Azakir, Yara Abi Nader, Louisa Naks) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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