The appointment of Dr. Hassan Diab to head Lebanon’s next cabinet re-ignited the Lebanese streets with the people of the revolution protesting again, refusing him as their next prime minister.
Via The Daily Star/Mohamad Azakir
Supporters of Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri of the Mustaqbal movement were among those who protested against the nomination of the new Prime Minister.
However, the refusal of Hariri’s supporters to lose their leader at the head of the government turned into uproars. They blocked roads across Tripoli, the Bekaa, Sidon, and parts of Beirut, burning tires and shouting for the new PM to leave.
It started earlier in the day when scuffles broke out between them and the Lebanese Army in Corniche al-Mazraa in Beirut. They threw rocks and fireworks at the soldiers that attempted to reopen the road. That prompted riot police to intervene, escalating the commotion to the worst in the evening.
In this regard, caretaker Interior Minister Raya Hassan addressed the protesters in the streets. “Some areas, especially in the Corniche of Mazraa and Tripoli, are witnessing a movement of unrest and skirmishes, including fireworks and stone-throwing at the army and security forces,” she said.
She appealed to the protesters in these areas to clear roads and sites to ward off dangers and for them to respond to the call of Saad Hariri to leave the streets immediately.
His demand for them to retreat came, according to her, “out of his belief in the state of institutions and in order to preserve the civil peace and the principle of moderation that has always been pursued by [caretaker] Prime Minister Hariri.”
Saad Hariri had called upon his supporters to leave the streets after the scuffles broke out between the protesters and the Army in Corniche al-Mazraa. He went to twitter saying: “He who really loves me, let him leave the streets immediately.”
يلي فعلًا بحبني يطلع من الطرقات فورًا
— Saad Hariri (@saadhariri) December 20, 2019
However, both Hariri’s call and MP Raya Hassan’s statement haven’t made any impact so far. The protesters of the Mustakbal movement remain in the streets to date, showing their disproval, and blocking the roads, mainly in Cornish el-Mazraa and Verdun.