Anti-Government Protesters Stage Demos in Beirut, Tripoli

Anti-government protesters on Wednesday organized several rallies in the capital Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli.

In Beirut, protesters rallied outside the Swiss embassy near the Ring bridge to demand that Switzerland carry out “transparent investigations to unveil the stolen funds and freeze the assets of Lebanese politicians accused of smuggling their money to Switzerland, especially after October 17, 2019.”

“Those stolen funds belong to the Lebanese people, must be recovered and we will not remain silent about them,” the protesters said.

Separately, a group of protesters gathered outside the Interior Ministry in Sanayeh to protest security forces’ Tuesday attempt to reopen roads around the Martyrs Square protest camp, accusing the ministry of seeking to dismantle their tents and end the sin-in, and consequently the popular uprising.

The protesters stressed that they will remain camped at Martyrs Square, criticizing the removal of security forces guarding the site as a step that would leave them exposed to attacks by counter-demonstrators.

They also decried that any of their demands has not been achieved until the moment.

In Tripoli, protesters meanwhile rallied outside al-Mustaqbal Movement's offices in protest at its bloc's participation in a controversial parliament session that approved the 2020 state budget.