This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/news/529132-beirut-minister-protesters-clash-police-lebanon/
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Beirut blast demonstrators get past riot police and tear gas, smash front of minister’s home (VIDEOS) | Beirut blast demonstrators get past riot police and tear gas, smash front of minister’s home (VIDEOS) |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| After being beaten and tear gassed by riot police, a mob of protesters in Beirut has smashed the entrance to the home of Lebanon’s interior minister, who they say is protecting those responsible for last year’s port explosion. | After being beaten and tear gassed by riot police, a mob of protesters in Beirut has smashed the entrance to the home of Lebanon’s interior minister, who they say is protecting those responsible for last year’s port explosion. |
| Protesters marched to the house of Mohammed Fahmi earlier on Tuesday, demanding that the caretaker interior minister lift the immunity granted to government officials over last year’s devastating port explosion. Clashes soon broke out, and police and security officers beat back the demonstrators. | Protesters marched to the house of Mohammed Fahmi earlier on Tuesday, demanding that the caretaker interior minister lift the immunity granted to government officials over last year’s devastating port explosion. Clashes soon broke out, and police and security officers beat back the demonstrators. |
| The crowd grew in size, however, and the protesters managed to reach the front of Fahmi’s building. As the police and security officers threw tear gas, the mob smashed the front windows of the building. It is unclear whether Fahmi was inside his home at the time. | The crowd grew in size, however, and the protesters managed to reach the front of Fahmi’s building. As the police and security officers threw tear gas, the mob smashed the front windows of the building. It is unclear whether Fahmi was inside his home at the time. |
| More protesters gathered out on the street, enveloped by clouds of tear gas. | More protesters gathered out on the street, enveloped by clouds of tear gas. |
| Darkness fell over the Lebanese capital and police sirens echoed through the street, but a group of demonstrators – some of whom lost family in the port blast – remained outside Fahmi’s house. | Darkness fell over the Lebanese capital and police sirens echoed through the street, but a group of demonstrators – some of whom lost family in the port blast – remained outside Fahmi’s house. |
| Tuesday’s march to the minister’s residence was not the first time demonstrators have demanded accountability from Lebanon’s government over last year’s explosion, which killed more than 200 people, injured over 6,000 and destroyed huge swathes of the Lebanese capital. Earlier this month, family members of blast victims protested outside the Interior Ministry after Fahmi denied a request by investigators to interview former General Security Agency head Major General Abbas Ibrahim. | Tuesday’s march to the minister’s residence was not the first time demonstrators have demanded accountability from Lebanon’s government over last year’s explosion, which killed more than 200 people, injured over 6,000 and destroyed huge swathes of the Lebanese capital. Earlier this month, family members of blast victims protested outside the Interior Ministry after Fahmi denied a request by investigators to interview former General Security Agency head Major General Abbas Ibrahim. |
| Ibrahim is one of several current and former officials suspected to have had some knowledge about the improper storage of highly explosive ammonium nitrate at the port. A number of ministers also accused of negligence remain shielded by parliamentary immunity. | Ibrahim is one of several current and former officials suspected to have had some knowledge about the improper storage of highly explosive ammonium nitrate at the port. A number of ministers also accused of negligence remain shielded by parliamentary immunity. |
| Like this story? Share it with a friend! | Like this story? Share it with a friend! |
| Dear readers and commenters, | |
| We have implemented a new engine for our comment section. We hope the transition goes smoothly for all of you. Unfortunately, the comments made before the change have been lost due to a technical problem. We are working on restoring them, and hoping to see you fill up the comment section with new ones. You should still be able to log in to comment using your social-media profiles, but if you signed up under an RT profile before, you are invited to create a new profile with the new commenting system. | |
| Sorry for the inconvenience, and looking forward to your future comments, | |
| RT Team. |