| On the evening of 17 October, thousands of protesters took to the streets and blocked roads across Lebanon. These protests, which give voice to long-standing grievances against perceived state corruption and dysfunction, were triggered by the announcement of new government taxes including on WhatsApp calls (with a plan to impose a 20–cent fee for a person’s first call of the day). The protests, which started in Beirut, have since expanded in numbers and spread to almost every city and town in the country, including Tripoli, Sidon, Tyre, Nabatieh, Baalback, Hermel, Aley, Khaldeh, Baadba, Dora, Jal-El-Dib, al-Dinniyeh, Choueifat, Akkar. Many roads were also blocked, including the old airport road and the Masnaa highway, as well as several roads in Beirut, which has practically paralyzed the country. Banks and major businesses have been closed since Friday morning. The main protests, which took place on Sunday October 20, are believed to have brought together more than 1.5 million protesters. In addition, the Lebanese diaspora has organised a number of protests in major cities around the world such as Washington, Paris, Sydney, Berlin, Geneva, Los Angeles and Amsterdam.
Since the beginning of these events, four people have been killed, including two Syrian workers who died from asphyxiation in a building that was set on fire, one protester in Tripoli killed by the private bodyguards of ex-MP Mosbah al-Ahdab, and another one on the Airport Road. In addition, more than 50 people are believed to have been injured in clashes with supporters of mainstream political parties. The Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri resigned today, saying he had reached a dead end. Lebanon has been paralysed for nearly two weeks, with many humanitarian and development organisations pausing, or significantly slowing their activities during the uncertain period. Whilst some protesters may be happy with the news of the Prime Minister’s resignation, this does create an even bigger political challenge in Lebanon – a country beset by political, economic, security, and humanitarian concerns. Humanitarian Advisors calls on protesters to remain peaceful and focused on restoring a functional and representative Government. Humanitarian Advisors calls on the international community to immediately increase their financial support to Lebanon, a country whose population consists of 25 percent refugees from Syria and Palestine – no other country has a higher proportion of refugees than Lebanon |
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