Extensive protests against the government in Lebanon after Beirut blast

Beirut: The Lebanese people are demonstrating against the Iran-supporting government, as they hold it responsible for the Beirut blast that killed 158 people. At the time, during the conflict between the protestors and the police, one police personnel lost his life, and 728 demonstrators were wounded. Also, some of the leaders from the party have resigned amid the chaos. But, the protestors have said that these demonstrations will not stop unless there is a change in government.

Moreover, Lebanon President Michel Aoun has claimed that an external force is responsible for the attack. But, it is claimed that by stating this, Aoun is dodging responsibility of his government and also Hezbollah. However, the Lebanese citizens blame their corrupt government for this attack that has displaced 2.5 lakh people. Since the past two days, 10,000 citizens have come down on the streets of Beirut to protest against the government.

On Saturday, 728 protestors got injured in the army action after the demonstrators captured three government offices. Following this, Beirut was silent until Sunday morning. But, the message of the protestors is going viral on social media that the fight is not over yet, and they will soon initiate another protest. Moreover, these protests have been noticed on an international level. While the United States has supported the protestors, Iran and Turkey are siding with the government.

Against the background of this rising public angst, PM Hassan Diab has asked to conduct a mid-term election in the country. Moreover, he tried to calm down the protests by assuring that the elections will happen in the next two months. But, the jolts of Beirut protests were experienced by the Diab government, and many ministers from his council accused him variously and then resigned.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron conducted a virtual meeting with prime leaders across the world and appealed them to raise funds for Lebanon. Some of the nations agreed to his appeal, and accordingly, Qatar has raised $5 crores, Kuwait raised $4 crores, Germany raised $2 crores, Cyprus has raised $60 lakhs. Furthermore, France has raised $6 crores, whereas the European Commission has declared an aid of $7.5 crores.