President Michel Aoun emphasized the necessity of investigating the circumstances surrounding the events in Tripoli and urged strict pursuit of those who infiltrated the peaceful protesters and committed acts of vandalism, which were widely condemned by everyone, especially by the city's citizens and officials.
During his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Zina Akar, President Aoun reviewed the security situation in the country following the events that took place last night in Tripoli, which involved riots that led to the burning of the Tripoli City Hall and attacks on several public and private facilities and educational institutions in the city. The National News Agency reported that Minister Akar informed President Aoun about the reports received from the army command regarding the circumstances of what happened in Tripoli and the measures that must be taken to prevent future violations of public and private properties.
On Thursday evening, protesters smashed the Tripoli City Hall building in northern Lebanon and set it on fire, as clashes between protesters and security forces continue for the third consecutive day in Tripoli. Protesters threw several Molotov cocktails and a hand grenade in the courtyard of the government building, resulting in injuries to a security personnel, and the Internal Security Forces responded with tear gas.
The ongoing clashes over the past three days have resulted in injuries to more than 300 people, including over 40 security personnel, among whom 13 were injured due to hand grenade attacks, with some sustaining serious injuries. Lebanon is suffering from a severe economic crisis that worsened after the popular protests began in October 2019, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut port explosion last August.
