Lebanon: At least 114 injured in clashes amid protests

By Gulsen Topcu

BEIRUT (AA) - At least 114 people were injured Sunday during clashes in Lebanon between security forces and protesters who are demonstrating against the country’s economic crisis.

Protests have been taking place since Oct. 17 calling for the immediate formation of a new government and to demand improvements in economic conditions that are worsening day by day.

The Lebanese Red Cross said on Twitter that 18 ambulances and 86 health officers are in the field as 58 of the injured were referred to hospitals and others were treated at the scene.

A journalist for the Al Jazeera news agency was also among the wounded after getting hit by a rubber bullet.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene, the protesters began dispersing due to heavy rain.

At least 220 were also injured in Beirut on Saturday after security forces and protesters clashed outside the parliament building.

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