Protesters in Lebanon are gathering to demonstrate against the nomination of Hezbollah-backed Hassan Diab as prime minister.
In protest camps across the country, crowds swelled after the announcement, with many saying they reject Diab’s designation and casting him as part of the old class of politicians they are revolting against.
In central Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, the epicenter of the protests, a banner is unfurled reading “We want a prime minister from outside the ruling class.”
Supporters of outgoing Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri rally in front Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab’s house in the capital Beirut, on December 19, 2019, to denounce his nomination. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Dozens of men also gather outside Diab’s house, chanting slogans in support of former prime minister Hariri.
Most hailed from the mainly Sunni Tareeq al-Jadeedeh district, a stronghold of Hariri and his Future Movement.
“We are here to say that we reject Hassan Diab, because he was only endorsed by six Sunni lawmakers,” one man tells AFP, referring to parliamentarians outside the main Sunni bloc.
— Agencies
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