© REUTERS / MOHAMED AZAKIR
Lebanese police are clashing on Thursday with followers of the Shia parties,
trying to prevent them from coming to the squares of Downtown Beirut, occupied by peaceful protesters, eyewitnesses told Sputnik from the site.
"The clashes between followers of the Hezbollah [movement], the Amal Movement and police are taking place on the Ring Bridge near the Martyr's Square and the Riad Al Solh Square. Police are using tear gas to prevent aggressive groups from access to peaceful demonstrators. Followers of the Shia parties are throwing stones to police officers", the eyewitnesses said.
Some Lebanese media also report that Shia activists were throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers.
That is not the first attempt of Shia activists to attack opposition demonstrators,
whose camps were set on fire and looted.
People have remained in the streets of Lebanon since 17 October, despite premier Saad Hariri and his cabinet being dismissed, to demand economic reforms, specifically in the banking sector.
Before Hariri's cabinet resigned, both of the main Shia-based groups, Hezbollah and the Amal movement, were represented in the Lebanese government.
Comment: Elijah Magnier provides some
background:
War was avoided when Hezbollah issued a directive instructing all its members and supporters to leave the streets, asking its members to stop and persuade any ally members to come off the streets and to avoid using motorcycles to harass protestors. The instructions were clear: "If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."
Hezbollah understood what the corners of Beirut are hiding: an invitation to start a war, particularly when for over a month the Lebanese army refused to open the main roads, allowing not only legitimate protestors but also thugs to rule.
So what's going on now, just a few days after the above was written? Did these alleged Hezbollah supporters not get the message?
Comment: Elijah Magnier provides some background: So what's going on now, just a few days after the above was written? Did these alleged Hezbollah supporters not get the message?