Lebanon protesters regroup in Beirut after day of clashes

BEIRUT — Hundreds of anti-government protesters converge on the center of the Lebanese capital, a day after violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces that injured more than 400 people.

Unprecedented protests have rocked Lebanon since October 17, with Lebanese  from all political and religious backgrounds demanding the wholesale ouster of a political class they view as inept and corrupt.

Despite rainfall, hundreds keep up the demonstrations in central Beirut, gathering by the barricaded road leading to parliament amid a heavy deployment by security forces.

“Revolutionaries, free people, we will complete this path,” they chant, some wearing colorful waterproof ponchos or clutching umbrellas.

A protester called Mazen says he and others were “fed up with politicians.”

“After three months of revolution, they have proven to us that they don’t change, don’t listen, and have nothing to give,” the 34-year-old says.

In a nearby street earlier, a tea pot lay among black cinders on the pavement where unidentified assailants had set fire to protesters’ tents the night before.

Yesterday, 377 people were injured — both protesters and members of the security forces — according to a toll compiled by AFP from figures provided by the Red Cross and Civil Defense.

— AFP