The Banking Association, which blames Protestants for exacerbating the country’s banking crisis, was also taken over by protesters and set on fire.
Hours after the protests shook Beirut for the first time, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has vowed to hold early elections as his beleagured government calls for his resignation.
Diab said he was introducing a law calling for early elections and said he would remain in government for two months until major parties can reach an agreement.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Parts of the central district were set on fire and when the Protestants took over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first in a series of referendums, they declared it the “headquarters of the revolution.”
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Beirut’s Martyr’s Square on Saturday afternoon to take “revenge” against the ruling class of politicians who were held widely responsible for the blast that left waste for large swaths of Lebanon’s capital.
The air was thick with tear gas as people filled the main protest website, with demonstrations sweeping surrounding neighborhoods and the city’s highway, in the biggest protests since a nationwide uprising last October.
The US Embassy in Beirut has expressed support for peaceful Protestants. “The Lebanese people have suffered too much and deserve to have leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular demands for transparency and accountability,” the embassy tweeted on Saturday night. “We support them in their right to peaceful protest, and encourage all involved to refrain from violence.”
One member of the Lebanese security force has died. More than 200 people were injured in the protests, including 63 who were taken to hospitals, according to the Lebanese Red Cross. Several journalists are among the injured.
The reaction of the security forces did not seem to disperse many of the angry Protestants. One woman who fell as she stumbled over people walking in her direction said, “They bombed our city. I will return.” Her face woke up with tears, she grabbed her belongings, like some stones, and went back into the crowd.
“You survive an explosion in Beirut just to gasp,” said one man in his 20s when he held an onion to his mouth to reduce the effects of the gas.
Parts of the demonstrations remained peaceful, while other parts were mostly filled with angry Protestants who came to stand with security forces.
“We are in trouble here because on the one hand Protestants are burning buildings and if I send the fire trucks to put out the fire, I am afraid that Protestants could attack the police and firefighters and hurt them,” Beirut said. Governor Marwan Abboud to CNN. “On the other hand, I just can’t send the police or the fighters.”
Abboud was heckled earlier in the day and chased out of a damaged neighborhood by Protestants.
The protesters set up mock gallows in what were called “Judgment Day” protests, as grief gave way to anger after more than 154 people were killed and dozens more were missing. More than 5,000 people were injured.
Struggles of leading political leaders, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, were hung by noises, in some of the most explicit signs of public unrest the country has seen in years.
Protesters kept reading signs, “Here’s where the noses should be hung.” The mocking gallows have become a key symbol of the demonstrations, which demand that those responsible for Tuesday’s explosion be held accountable, as well as against corruption and mismanagement of the country.
The gallows were erected on the same spot where several people were hanged more than 100 years ago by the then ruling Ottoman Empire for revolt against Istanbul. The standard Martyr’s Square commemorates those performances.
Demonstrators stormed the walls of Beirut’s Nejmeh Square, where Lebanon’s parliament has stood for months, and tried to tear down barricades.
In one video, soldiers were seen taking cover in archaeological ruins as Protestants threw rocks at them.
“We were born and raised with this regime in place – we believe it’s time to move on to the last explosion,” said 18-year-old protester Dana Itani. “These politicians deserve to be hanged here, they honestly deserve even worse.”
Protesters threw stones at police at Nejmehplein.
“I live the civil war. I was displaced, living hard days and we have already lost homes in the war. We thought this was it,” said Hayat Gharazeddine, 51. “However, these days are less than war. You have no idea how you could die now, that’s the worst thing. “
“I wish I could hang them myself,” she added.
Some Protestants occupy a Foreign Ministry building in eastern Beirut, and carried large banners over its badly damaged structure calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group and political party, according to the Lebanese TV channel LBCi.
One of the protesters declared the building the “headquarters of the revolution”, via a megaphone.
Lebanon was already embroiled in an economic meltdown ahead of Tuesday’s blast, which destroyed its main port, and destroyed grain silos. The international community has already sent emergency medical and food supplies to the country and is investing tens of millions of dollars in funds.
Tuesday’s disaster could also bring the country’s political crisis to a tipping point. Since a popular uprising in October over the government of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, public unrest against the ruling political class has been rampant, accelerating a financial crisis that is one of the worst the country has ever seen. .
Five MPs have been fired in protest, in addition to some high-profile official dismissals. Authorities have detained 16 people in connection with the blast, including Lebanese customs director general Badri Daher, Beirut port chief Hasan Kraytem and former customs chief Chafic Merei.
CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh, Ali Younes, Nada Al Taher and Tariq Keblaoui contributed to this report.
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