Protesters close roads across Beirut to protest economic woes

dpa Beirut Protesters closed major roads in and outside the Lebanese capital on Monday to protest a deteriorating financial and economic situation that is ...

dpaBeirutProtesters closed major roads in and outside the Lebanese capital on Monday to protest a deteriorating financial and economic situation that is crippling the country.Tyres and rubbish bins were set ablaze on several major roads leading to Beirut, paralysing businesses in the capital.By noontime protesters announced that they had ended their protests but vowed that more protests will be organized in the coming days and called on people to engage in civil disobedience.Lebanese army soldiers were seen extinguishing burning tyres and opening major roads across the capital.  “People should go down to the streets and join us to protest this hell we are living in,” one of the protesters on Beirut’s airport road told dpa earlier.Some protesters were even calling on people via social media groups to leave their homes and on students to leave their classes and take to the streets to protest the dire economic conditions.Traffic came to a standstill in the main business street of the Hamra district as roads leading to the area were closed with burning tyres.   The Lebanese pound traded last week at 25,000 against the dollar on the black market for the first time since 2019 when demonstrators took to the streets to protest against a corrupt ruling class in the country.  The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 per cent of its value since 2019, and according to a UN report, more than 70 per cent of Lebanon’s 6 million people now live below the poverty line.UNICEF warned last week of the worsening impact of the economic situation on children, with a new poll showing an increase in the number of children going hungry, having to work to support their family and not getting the health care they need.  The current economic crisis is Lebanon’s worst since its 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.