Collective Action
Army, protesters open main roads on day 20 of uprising
On Tuesday, the 20th day of the uprising, the Lebanese Army and protesters opened some main roads across the country. Other protesters refused follow suit, in a bid to pressure politicians to form a technocratic government quickly.
The Lebanese Army opened the northern highway at Jal al-Dib, after protesters refused to open the road.
About a hundred soldiers rushed to the area, moving away the cars blocking the eastern lane of the highway. Protesters then gathered and sat on the western lane, refusing to allow cars through.
The Army then removed protesters who were sitting on the ground, pushing them to the side of the road. The soldiers also dismantled a stage and tents set up by the protesters.
Two protesters were arrested, according to local media.
Earlier in the day, the Ring Bridge in Beirut was blocked. Demonstrators decided later to reopen it and “protest outside state institutions," according to one protester.
However, Sassine Square in Asrafieh and the Chevrolet intersection remained blocked.
Protesters gathered later outside the state-run Electricite du Liban near Gemmayzeh, local media reported.
The highway north of Beirut was shut down at Nahr al-Kalb, Zouk Mosbeh, and Chekka, in addition to roads inside Tripoli.
The Jal al-Dib bridge was also briefly closed off in the morning.
“If we’re closing the roads and [politicians] are not listening to us. What would happen if we protest on the side of the road?” one protester blocking the highway at Jal al-Dib said.
The highway south of Beirut was blocked in Naameh and Jiyyeh earlier. However, by the morning, it was reopened at both points.
In Nabatieh, protesters gathered outside the area's branch of the Central Bank.
Roads in the Zahle, Saadnayel, Ghazzeh, the Masnaa border crossing, Rashaya, Jubb Jennin and Aley were blocked Tuesday morning.