Clashes have broken out between protesters and security forces in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, amid a new round of national dialogue talks.
The clashes occurred on Wednesday, as the demonstrators attempted to gain entrance to Beirut’s Nejmeh Square, where politicians were holding the second round of national dialogue talks at the parliament building .
Reports say that at least 25 protesters were detained and 10 others sustained injuries in the scuffles, the English language newspaper The Daily Star reported.
The first round of the national dialogue, sponsored by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, was held last week. The talks laid bare the sharp differences between rival parties over how to resolve a protracted political crisis that has plunged Lebanon into a presidential vacuum and paralyzed the executive and legislative branches of power.
Lebanon has been without a leader since May 2014, when former President Michel Sleiman left office at the end of his tenure.
