Protesters Reopen Major Tunnel, other Roads after 2-Day Closure

Major roads around Lebanon have been reopened after a two-day closure triggered by a TV interview with President Michel Aoun in which he called on protesters to go home.

The roads linking Beirut with the country’s south and north were opened shortly before noon Thursday, as well as others around the country.

The opening of the roads came a day after protesters started building a wall inside Nahr el-Kalb tunnel on the highway linking Beirut with north Lebanon leading to an outcry by the public who saw it as a reminder of the 1975-90 civil war.

In Nahr el-Kalb, protesters embarked on a cleaning campaign scrubbing the tunnel's walls with soap and water as a good will gesture. They even decorated it with flowers.

Protesters have been holding demonstrations since Oct. 17 demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has ruled the country for three decades.