Riot police uses repressive measures against protesters attempting to storm into the parliament

Riot police uses repressive measures against protesters attempting to storm into the parliament

 Riot police clashed with protesters in central Beirut for a second day Sunday, as public rage mounted over a massive port explosion that devastated the city, killed 159 people and injured 6,000.

Riot police carrying batons clashed with demonstrators as thousands surrounded the area around Parliament and Martyrs' Square in Downtown Beirut.

Crowd numbers were significantly lower than the previous day’s “Judgment Day” protests which saw thousands of protesters gathered in Martyrs’ Square. More than 728 were injured and one policeman died in Saturday's protests.

But as numbers increased into Sunday evening, protesters managed to pull down a steel barrier in front of the well-protected Parliament in Downtown Beirut. Debris was set alight on streets surrounding Nijmeh Square.

Date: 
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Acting bodies/ State apparatuses: 
Internal Security Forces
Method: 
Hard power (repressive/violent response)
Objective: 
Defensive
Types of response: 
Restrictions on individual freedoms (inc. censorship, freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of association)
Security deployments
Justification of response: 
Containment of conflict incident

LBN11061

Village Name: 
BCD
Local Name: 
Beirut Central District
Caza: 
Associated HRV: 
14408