Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, was assaulted an hour ago standing without bodyguards while speaking to a group of individuals.
The assault and parts of the conversation were captured on video showing Fayyad being pushed by a bystander while without guards and in civilian clothes.
The video records the group of people talking to the Minister bluntly.
One of the individuals is heard saying: “I come with a message from the Lebanese people. I just want to tell you one thing. I’m going to tell you it bluntly. And I hope to God you understand and this is a message from the entire Lebanese population. Today, this is a requested message to you…” and he strongly pushed the minister.
The video leaves a lot up for question, and we are still waiting to see how this incident unfolds.
Fayyad has been part of talks with the World Bank earlier this month and with the US ambassador in March. However, the talks have yet to materialize into any real change in Lebanon’s day-to-day reality.
Lebanon’s electricity and energy crisis have yet to subside. The state’s electricity sector remains highly dysfunctional with supply shortages. Currently, the average household gets around two hours of state-provided electricity daily.
The electricity shortage has pushed the majority of Lebanese households and businesses to resort to subscription-based access to electricity. Such subscriptions rely on private generators and are usually highly-priced for an already collapsing economic environment.
The recent inflation of the lira to 26,000 per 1 USD has also caused generator and diesel prices to surge.
