BEIRUT: Lebanon’s under-fire prime minister Saad Hariri has resigned following nearly two weeks of unprecedented protests demanding political change.
Hariri told a press conference he had “reached a dead end” and that the country needed a shock to break the crisis. He said he would tender his resignation and that of the government to President Michel Aoun.
A protest movement has gripped Lebanon for almost two weeks, calling for an overhaul of a political class viewed as incompetent and corrupt. Banks and schools have remained closed and the normally congested main arteries in Beirut blocked by protesters.
Hariri’s press conference took place after dozens of counter-demonstrators loyal to Shia groups Hezbollah and Amal attacked the main protest site in the capital Beirut.
Black-clad men wielding sticks and pipes destroyed the protest camp that has been the focal point of countrywide rallies against a political elite accused of rampant corruption and steering Lebanon towards economic collapse.
The turmoil has worsened Lebanon’s deep economic crisis, with financial strains unseen since the 1975-90 civil war leading to a scarcity of hard currency and a weakening of a weakening of the pegged Lebanese pound.
The show of force came after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last week roads closed by protesters should be reopened and suggested the demonstrators were financed by its foreign enemies and implementing their agenda.
Smoke rose as some of the tents were set ablaze. Hezbollah and Amal supporters had earlier fanned out in the downtown area of the capital shouting “Shia, Shia” in reference to themselves and cursing protesters.
“With our blood and lives we offer ourselves as a sacrifice for you Nabih,” they chanted in reference to parliament speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Amal Movement. “We heed your call, we heed your call, Nasrallah,” they chanted.
Security forces did not initially intervene to stop the assault, in which protesters were hit with sticks and were seen appealing for help as they ran, witnesses said. Teargas was eventually fired to disperse the crowds.
