Lebanese block roads as mass demonstrations enter 10th day
Lebanese anti-government protesters stepped up their efforts to block roads in and around the capital Beirut on Saturday, lying in the streets and chanting "peaceful, peaceful" as security forces struggled to drag them out of the way.
The dispersals were largely peaceful, but clashes broke out near the northern city of Tripoli, injuring a number of people. The campaign of civil disobedience came on the 10th day of nationwide anti-government protests, the largest Lebanon has seen in years.
The rallies have paralyzed a country already grappling with a severe fiscal crisis that demonstrators blame on political elites who have ruled since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Banks, universities and schools have been closed since last week.
