Lebanese Hezbollah supporters attack protesters near the Ring Bridge
A group of Hezbollah supporters attacked
demonstrators protesting against Lebanon’s political elite in central Beirut
late Sunday, triggering confrontations as security forces separated the two
sides.
The Lebanese Civil Defense hospitalized five
protesters with different injuries, one of whom was subjected to a knife
attack.
The attacks by young men armed with clubs and metal
rods chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans continued into the early hours of Monday as
riot police and soldiers formed a human barrier preventing them from reaching
the protesters.
The supporters, who were riding motorbikes with the
flags of Hezbollah and Amal Movement, stoned the protesters, who retaliated.
The attacks by young men armed with clubs and metal
rods chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans began late Sunday and continued after
midnight as riot police and soldiers tried to prevent them from reaching the
protesters.
The attacks occurred after protesters blocked a
major road that links eastern neighborhoods of the capital with western parts.
Since last month, Lebanese from all religious
backgrounds have taken to the streets en masse to cry out against what they
view as an incompetent and corrupt ruling class, forcing the government to
resign.
