Amid tight security, thousands of Lebanese people gathered in the capital, Beirut, for a major rally to protest against the worsening garbage crisis in the country.
At least two or three armored personnel carriers were deployed around the office of Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam on Saturday as protesters carrying the white, red and green Lebanese flag filled up a main square in the capital.
The Saturday protest was expected to be the largest of demonstrations over the government’s failure to collect garbage from the streets following the closure of a main landfill.
Since the Naameh landfill closure, the main waste-management company Sukleen has stopped collecting garbage, saying it had no place to dispose the waste.
The demonstrations in the Arab country, which initially started last month over the government’s failure to tackle the garbage crisis, have now evolved into wider protests against the Lebanese government.
Demonstrators say the country’s political paralysis and corruption are the main reasons behind the current garbage crisis in the Arab country.
Last weekend, rallies against the officials’ inability to deal with the garbage collection problems resulted in violent clashes with police. The violent protests have so far left at least one person dead while dozens of protesters and police forces have also been injured.
