- Title: Lebanon's most senior Christian cleric steps into crisis
- Date: 23rd October 2019
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (OCTOBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS BLOCKING MAIN ROAD WITH MAKESHIFT BARRICADES SIGN ON MAKESHIFT BARRICADES READING (Arabic): "WE ARE ALL THE LEBANESE ARMY" PROTESTERS WITH LEBANESE AND ARMY FLAGS ROAD BLOCKED WITH VEHICLES
- Embargoed: 6th November 2019 16:44
- Keywords: Lebanon protests Christian crisis Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai
- Location: BEIRUT AND BKERKI, LEBANON
- City: BEIRUT AND BKERKI, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2BKABR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Lebanon's highest Christian authority called on Wednesday (October 23) for a change in government to include qualified technocrats and urged the president to begin talks to address the demands of demonstrators in the streets for a seventh day.
Throwing his weight behind demands for at least some change in government, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai was the first major religious figure to wade into the crisis.
Flag-waving protesters kept roads blocked with vehicles and makeshift barricades for a seventh day on Wednesday. Banks have been closed since Friday (October 18) and will remain shut on Thursday (October 24), the banking association said. Schools are also closed.
With a population of 6 million people, Lebanon has been swept by unprecedented protests against a political elite blamed for a deep economic crisis.
(Production: Ahmad El Kerdi, Karamallah Daher, Alaa Kanaan, Yara Abi Nader, Louisa Naks) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
