Naharnet

Security Forces Scuffle with Sabaa Party Activists Outside Labor Ministry

A scuffle erupted on Friday between members of the security forces and activists from the Sabaa Party outside the Ministry of Labor in al-Musharrafieh area in Beirut's southern suburb.

The campaigners said they were “protesting the delayed efforts to form a government.”

Early in the morning, they first campaigned outside the Industry Ministry. They moved their protest later and gathered outside the Ministry of Labor and embarked on entering the premises but were banned by the security.

The brawl left one man injured. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Last week, Sabaa Party staged a sit-in near the Ministry of Finance-TVA Directorate in Beirut's neighborhood of Adliyeh. They blocked the main entrance to the premises and erected a tent outside in protest at “the delayed government formation and deteriorating living conditions in the country.”

Disagreements among political parties over the Cabinet quotas and shares have delayed Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s mission to form the government. Hariri was designated for the task on May 24.

Political bickering over shares is threatening to scuttle pledges worth $11 billion by international donors.

In November, the World Bank issued a stark warning, with one official saying that unless a government is formed soon to carry out badly needed reforms, "the Lebanon we know will fizzle away."

Source: Naharnet


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