Clashes Between Followers Of Shia Parties, Police In Downtown Beirut Came To End

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) The clashes between Lebanese police and followers of the Shia parties have come to end, with the security forces having fully restored control over the situation, an eyewitness told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, eyewitnesses told Sputnik that police were trying to prevent Shia activists from coming to the squares of Downtown Beirut, occupied by peaceful protesters. The activists were said to throw stones and Molotov cocktails at police officers.

"It is calm now. Police are controlling the situation," the eyewitness said.

According to Lebanese media, police managed to disperse Shia activists.

The unrest left several people injured as well as a number of cars damaged.

That is not the first attempt of Shia activists to attack opposition demonstrators, whose camps were set on fire and looted several times.

The protests in Lebanon began on October 17 after the government said it would introduce a tax on internet calls made via the WhatsApp messenger. Despite the measure being scrapped, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his cabinet being dismissed, people have remained in the streets to demand economic reforms, specifically in the banking sector.