Lebanon moves towards 'state of uncertainty': Hariri

By Wasem Saif al-Din

BEIRUT (AA) - Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday warned of the ongoing crisis in Lebanon saying that the country is moving towards "a state of uncertainty."

Hariri said on Twitter that the army and all security forces should assume their responsibilities in "applying laws and preventing breaches of civil peace" after the rise of escalation with the protesters in the latest days.

At least 114 Lebanese were injured Sunday during clashes between security forces and protesters who were demonstrating against the country’s economic crisis.

Hariri pointed out that the continuation of clashes between protesters and security forces means "an endless crisis and insisting on denying the new political reality."

"Our government resigned to move to a new government that deals with popular demands but the disruption has been ongoing for 90 respective days, which means we move towards an unknown destination," he added.

"What is required is a new government, which should be to stop the way towards collapse as well as finding a solution to the economic and security conditions which are worsening day after day," he said.

Lebanon has been rocked by protests since October of the last year. The six-million-people country 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.

* Bassel Ibrahim contributed to this report from Ankara