First death reported in nationwide protests wracking Lebanon

A local official for a Lebanese political party is shot dead by soldiers trying to open a road closed by protesters in southern Beirut late Tuesday, the army reports, marking the first death in 27 days of nationwide protests.

An army statement says the man was shot in the Khaldeh neighborhood after an altercation during which a soldier opened fire to disperse the crowd, hitting one person. It says the army command had opened an investigation into the killing after arresting the soldier.

The incident is sure to inflame tensions already running high in the country, which has been engulfed by nationwide protests against the country’s entire political class since Oct. 17.