Protesters block Lebanon’s highways again, demand end to political vacuum

14 Jan, 2020 12:50 / Updated 4 years ago

Lebanese protesters resumed blocking major highways on Tuesday and began a “week of wrath” demanding an end to a nearly three-month political vacuum.

The cross-sectarian protests fueled by a crippling economic crisis led to the government stepping down in late October, but no new one has yet been formed as political parties argue over its composition.

On Tuesday morning, dozens of protesters blocked key highways in Beirut with overturned rubbish bins and burning tires, AFP reported. There were also demonstrations on Tuesday in the provinces, including second city Tripoli and the southeastern town of Hasbaiyya.

The protesters are demanding a new government made up solely of independent technocrats. The country was ruled by a sectarian power-sharing system since the end of the civil war.