Conflict Incident Report

BEIRUT: Civil Defense volunteers rallied in Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square after lawmakers failed to discuss a bill that would permanently employ Lebanon’s volunteer corps of rescue workers.

Spokesperson for the volunteers Youssef Mallah urged MPs to meet their pledges and ratify the government-approved decree.

"I just want to tell them (lawmakers) that parliamentary elections will be staged," Mallah told Al-Jadeed channel.

He urged President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Speaker Nabih Berri, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and other state officials and clerics to meet their demands.

Lawmakers began discussing the new wage hike for civil servants and public and private teachers. They still have not discussed several draft laws, including Civil Defense article 22, which would reorganize the Directorate General of Civil Defense and permanently employ the volunteers.

There are an estimated 2,553 Civil Defense volunteers in Lebanon. Most are ambulance first responders, rescue workers and firefighters.

In August, volunteers marched toward Israel’s technical fence near the southern border village of Marjayoun and erected a camp, in an attempt to press the state to make them full-time employees with benefits.

It was the latest move in a series of protests by the volunteers as they mounted a months-long campaign in efforts to obtain their rights. They blocked roads, camped in Martyr’s Square and convened for countless demonstrations.