Lebanese army units and internal troop fighters managed to completely stabilize the situation in the Cornish al-Mazraa region in the center of Beirut.
During the day, clashes between law enforcement officers and activists who blocked the road by organizing a rally against the appointment of new Prime Minister Hassan Diab, took place on the main street of Cornish el Mazraa. Protesters threw stones at the military and police, preventing them from unlocking the roads.
Tensions were added by the fact that this street divides the Sunni and Shiite quarters. The army created a lively demarcation line to prevent clashes between supporters of different faith parties.
“We went to a peaceful rally. We are Sunnis and against the appointment of Diab. Our community is able to independently choose its representative without interference (the leader of the largest Christian party, Jebran) Basil and Shiites. But the military who arrived here began to use force. In this situation, everyone has his own limit patience”, – one of the participants in the confrontation told the reporters.
Representatives of the army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs succeeded in calling the activists to order through negotiations, after which the Sunnis themselves asked their like-minded people to put out the burning tires and garbage cans, which bothered mostly residents of their own quarters.
On Thursday evening, Lebanese president Michelle Aung instructed former education minister Hassan Diab to form a new government. Many took to the streets of cities, protesting against this decision.
Some participants in the rally in Beirut said they were opposed to the new Prime Minister, since they considered his appointment to be an unlawful result of the agreements of the political circles against which they were opposed. Part of the demonstrators, in turn, considers it necessary to give the new prime minister a chance to form a government and act, as the country needs a government and decision-making on Lebanon’s exit from the crisis.
Anti-government demonstrations began in Lebanon on October 17. Despite the resignation of the government of Saad Hariri on October 29, unrest in the country did not stop. The economic and financial situation continues to be in crisis. The president of the country, Michel Aoun, announced in early October that the state was suffering from financial blockade and sanctions.