Collective Action

Tear gas was fired at protesters in north Lebanon Wednesday night, as demonstrators blocked roads once again.

The Lebanese Army fired tear gas at protesters in the Akkar town of Abdeh. Across the country, roads were blocked by protesters, tents and burning tires after being reopened earlier in the day in ongoing anti-government protests.

A dispute broke out as the Army attempted to reopen the main road that runs through the northern town, which the protesters resisted, according to the state-run National News Agency. As tensions rose, the Army fired tear gas to disperse protesters.

The Lebanese Red Cross tweeted that it had deployed to the area.

Following the incident, hundreds of protesters gathered in the town's central square.

Anti-government demonstrators also blocked the central intersection in the southern port city of Sidon, as well as roads in the Bekaa Valley and Akkar and along the Tripol-Beirut highway.

Protesters in Sidon clashed with Army soldiers attempting to open the road, leading to at least three injuries, the Lebanese Red Cross said.

The NNA reported that many schools in the city had decided to close their doors Thursday, contrary to the request of the caretaker education minister.

In Beirut, dozens of protesters blocked the "Ring Bridge" once again. Soldiers had opened the road and forced demonstrators to remove their tents Wednesday morning after more than a week of it being blocked.

In Barja, in south Lebanon, protesters agreed to clear the main highway upon the request of the local mukhtar.

A big crowd returned to Tripoli's al-Nour Square, which has been one of the most consistently occupied protest sites since the mass demonstrations began on Oct. 17.

In Beirut, turnout was low compared with previous days, but a few hundred had arrived by the evening, milling between food stands, "open discussion" tents and gathering in front of the Grand Serail.

On Wednesday morning, the Army opened the highway north of Beirut, almost an hour after its call on protesters to voluntarily clear the roads.

Soldiers moved around 50 protesters who were blocking the highway at Jal al-Dib, and took down the tents they had set up in the area. The force, which comprised more than 100 soldiers, also tried to push parked cars out of the way, before their owners voluntarily moved them.

At around 10 p.m. Wednesday, the Army deployed to the highway in Jal al-Dib once again.

In an earlier statement, the Army stressed the people’s right to “peaceful protests and freedom of expression ... in public squares only.”