Riot police clash with anti-govt protesters in Beirut

Rioters set fire to several government buildings in Tripoli capping days of violent clashes as anger over growing poverty made worse by the coronavirus lockdown boiled over.

Beirut:Riot police briefly clashed on Monday in Beirut with hundreds of protesters demanding the release of anti-government activists detained following clashes in northern Lebanon late last month.

The protest outside Lebanon's Military Court in Beirut began peacefully when scores of demonstrators gathered before they later cut a major road.

The Lebanese army said it detained 17 people following last month's protests in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest.

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Rioters set fire to several government buildings in Tripoli capping days of violent clashes as anger over growing poverty made worse by the coronavirus lockdown boiled over.

The army later said later that 10 persons including a Syrian citizen were referred to military prosecutors over the attacks on state institutions including setting fire to the historic municipal building.

Tripoli's confrontations between protesters and security forces left one person dead and more than 250 others were injured.

Earlier in the day, dozens of protesters closed a major street in the southern city of Sidon.

AP

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