Following provocations, the majority of demonstrators left the Riad El Solh Square where the protests were taking place.
Protests in #Beirut seem more organized and mobilized than in year's past. #طلعت_ريحتكم #YouStink #Anonymous pic.twitter.com/GtqTgjm0Bz
— Ahmed Shihab-Eldin (@ASE) 23 августа 2015
"We came here not to fight with police. We want changes in the basic principles of the country's administration. We want rights, stability and strong government capable to solve problems," a member of the Lebanese youth organization Ittihad ash-Shabab al-Dimuqrati, told RIA Novosti.
He added that those hurling Molotov cocktail wanted "chaos and pursued their own goals."
Protesters are heavily fired with teargas — streets are completely filled with teargas #Beirut pic.twitter.com/W0JJ3FsKFj
— حنان 1948 (@1948Hanane) 23 августа 2015
The demonstrators called for the resignation of the government, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and Environment Minister Mohammad Mashnouq amid a spreading garbage crisis.
#Beirut garbage protest in pix. Turned violent. Tear gas, rubber bullets. #YouStink pic.twitter.com/K0KxW29ypu
— Maria Finoshina (@MFinoshina_RT) 23 августа 2015
On Saturday, the police dispersed the anti-garbage demonstrators chanting anti-government slogans near the parliament with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. Dozens of protesters and policemen were injured in the scuffles.
The protests in Beirut broke out on Wednesday after the country’s main landfill was closed last month. Since then, thousands of tons of garbage have been left uncollected as the officials fail to take measures.
