UPDATE - At least 6 killed, over 30 wounded in Beirut protest

UPDATES NUMBER OF CASUALTIES; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Naim Berjawi

BEIRUT (AA) – A cautious calm descended over Beirut on Thursday evening after nearly four hours of violence in the Lebanese capital left at least six people dead and more than 30 wounded.

Panic and fear gripped the city after gunfire broke out at a protest by supporters of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement near the Justice Palace.

Hundreds of supporters of the two Shia groups had gathered to demand the removal of Tarek Bitar, the judge heading the probe into last year’s deadly Beirut port blast.

The protest started hours after a court dismissed a complaint against the judge and allowed him to continue the investigation.

The groups accuse the judge of bias, with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah recently saying that Bitar’s work “involves political targeting and has nothing to do with justice.”

According to the Lebanese Red Cross, the number of fatalities currently stands at six and more than 30 people have been wounded.

The organization’s update came after Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told reporters that five people were killed and at least 16 injured.

Among those killed was a woman who was struck by a bullet in her home, according to the state-run National News Agency.

The Lebanese military said in a statement that the protesters were attacked while heading toward the Justice Palace.

The army requested people to vacate the area and warned that any individuals with weapons will be shot.

The Beirut port blast in August 2020 killed more than 200 people, injured around 6,000, and left some 300,000 homeless, besides causing massive damage and further weakening Lebanon’s already fragile economy.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat in Ankara