Six killed by troops in Beirut protest
Angry demonstrators set fire to Lebanon’s Labour Ministry in Beirut today after soldiers shot and killed five people and wounded 12 others during protests against the government’s economic policies, security and hospital officials said.
A firefighter also died in the hospital after being hit by gunfire while trying to douse burning tyres that were set afire by demonstrators, officials said.
The Lebanese army said 20 soldiers were wounded in the clashes with stone-throwing demonstrators.
Dozens of demonstrators were rounded up, security officials said.
The violence, the worst in Lebanon in years, followed a strike call by the General Confederation of Labour and Trade Unions protesting against the government’s economic policies and demanding a reduction in petrol prices.
Demonstrators blocked some roads, including the Beirut International Airport highway, with burning tyres.
Schools, universities and many businesses closed and traffic was thin on the normally bustling streets of the Lebanese capital. Many travellers arriving at the airport, whose staff joined the strike for three hours, were left stranded for most of the day because of the trouble on the roads.
Demonstrators also staged a peaceful sit-in at the National Museum’s building, near the site where the Cabinet meets.
The violence erupted when soldiers, typically deployed during strikes and demonstrations, fired warning shots to disperse protesters in Hay al-Soulom, a poor south Beirut suburb, security officials said. Some bullets hit the demonstrators, killing at least three and wounding eight.
Two others were killed in the violence, according to hospital officials.
An army communique said soldiers were forced to open fire after protesters attempted to seize military vehicles. It reported one demonstrator was killed and three were wounded.
The conflicting casualty toll could not be reconciled.
The army said 13 soldiers, including three officers, were wounded in Hay al-Soulom.
Witnesses said the trouble began when soldiers arrested three demonstrators for setting tyres on fire. Demonstrators threw stones and surrounded military vehicles. Soldiers, who first fired into the air and then into the crowd, chased protesters and were seen beating several young men as they arrested them.
The protest, mostly by van and taxi drivers angry at high fuel prices, started with only about 40 people, but grew to around 2,000 as word of the violence spread.
Security officials said four protesters were wounded in a confrontation with troops on the airport highway. The army said protesters threw hand grenades at a military vehicle, wounding another seven soldiers, some of them seriously.
After the killings, protesters stormed the Labour Ministry in the Chiah district of south Beirut and set it on fire. Witnesses said the seven-storey building’s façade was blackened and damage was severe.
Most of the violence wAs in the Shiite Muslim strongholds of the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group. Hezbollah, which supported the strike but did not actively take part in protests, denounced the army shooting and held the government responsible for worsening economic conditions.
President Emile Lahoud demanded a judicial investigation into “the rioting and resulting human and material losses”.
Amnesty International urged Lebanese authorities to carry out an “independent and impartial” investigation into the violence and demanded those responsible for human rights violations – whether protesters or soldiers – be brought to justice. A statement issued by the London-based human rights group expressed concern that the use of force employed by Lebanese security forces may have been excessive and in violation of international law.
The clashes came amid increasing anger over what is seen as the government’s mismanagement of economic policies since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. The economy is shackled with a $42bn (€34bn) debt, or more than 180% of the country’s gross domestic product.
