BEIRUT: A man was shot dead south of Beirut, Lebanon’s state news agency said early Wednesday, after the army announced it had opened fire to disperse protesters blocking roads.
The victim “succumbed to his injuries” in hospital, according to the National News Agency, the second death in nearly a month of unprecedented protests that have erupted across Lebanon.
The army said in a statement that it had arrested a soldier after he opened fire in the coastal town of Khalde, just below the capital, to clear protesters “injuring one person”.
The Progressive Socialist Party, led by influential Druze politician Walid Jumblatt, said in a statement that the man was one of its members.
A long-time opponent of President Michel Aoun, Jumblatt appealed to his supporters to stay calm.
“In spite of what happened, we have no other refuge than the state. If we lose hope in the state, we enter chaos,“ he said.
Protesters are demanding the ouster of a generation of politicians they see as inefficient and corrupt.
In a televised address on Tuesday night, Aoun defended the role of his allies, the Shiite movement Hezbollah in Lebanon’s government, prompting more street protests.
The government stepped down on Oct 29 but stayed on in a caretaker capacity and no overt efforts have so far been made to form a new one. — AFP
