65 protesters hospitalized in Beirut

By Sumeyye Ozer

BEIRUT (AA) - Sixty-five of 165 injured protesters in Beirut were admitted to hospitals Saturday after clashing with security forces outside the parliament building.

The remaining injured received outpatient treatment.

Lebanon cities hosted marches with the slogan: “We will not pay the price” to protest the country’s economic and political situation.

Another group of protesters marched outside the buildings of Central Bank and Association of Banks.

The protests were also held in northern and southern cities.

Lebanese Interior Minister Raya el-Hassan said on Twitter: “I have always stressed the right to peaceful protests. But the protests have turned into an open attack on security forces, public and private properties. This is never acceptable.”

Lebanon suffers from high unemployment, slow growth and one of the highest debt ratios in the world, with the debt burden reaching $86.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019, according to the Finance Ministry.

*Writing by Sena Guler