Tripoli, one of Lebanon's poorest cities witnessed on Thursday the fourth night of unrest after the government imposed a 24-hour curfew to curb a COVID-19 surge that has killed more than 2,500 people.
Lebanon's caretaker prime minister condemned on Friday overnight violence in the city of Tripoli, where protesters, angry over a strict lockdown, clashed with security forces and set the municipality building on fire.
"We promise to work quickly to restore the municipality building of Tripoli so that it remains an expression of its dignity and pure heritage," Diab said.
Diab is steering the government in a caretaker role as fractious politicians remain unable to agree on a new administration since his quit in the aftermath of the Aug. 4 Beirut port explosion leaving Lebanon rudderless as poverty soars.
Lebanon`s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who was tasked with forming a new government more than three months ago, described the violence in Tripoli as "organized crime" and blamed the military for allowing the vandalism to take place.
"Who will protect Tripoli, if the army fails to protect it?" Hariri said in a statement issued late Thursday.
Smaller protests were also reported in Beirut and the eastern Bekaa region on Thursday, as well as earlier in the week.
Hariri said: "The people are in great suffering," while "the strong era is in a deep indifference," accusing Lebanon`s president of trying to direct the government clash towards sectarian paths.
He pointed out that "it is clear from the full context of the attributed speech that the departments of Baabda Palace (the Presidential Palace) want to direct the governmental clash towards sectarian paths, and by this, they deny the president the capacity to represent the Lebanese of all sects to limit this representation to his responsibility for the shares of Christians in the state, authority, and government."
"The criminals who set the municipality on fire and attempted to burn the court represent a black hatred for Tripoli," Hassan Diab said in a statement.
"The challenge now is in defeating these criminals by arresting them one by one and referring them to the judicial system."
Flames engulfed the government building after it caught fire just before midnight on Thursday. Police had been firing tear gas at protesters hurling Molotov cocktails.
On his part, Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an investigation into the circumstances of the events in the city of Tripoli in the north of the country, and to intensify the prosecution of the perpetrators.
Aoun and Defense Minister Zeina Aker presented the security situation in the country in general and in Tripoli, especially after the riots that took place yesterday night and led to the burning of the Tripoli municipality building and the destruction of the headquarters and official, educational and civil facilities.
Aoun called during the Akkar meeting to investigate the circumstances of what happened in Tripoli, and to intensify the pursuit of the perpetrators who had infiltrated the ranks of the peaceful demonstrators and carried out acts of sabotage that met with widespread condemnation from everyone, especially from the people of the city and its activities.
Anti-government protesters set fire to the city’s municipality building Thursday / Friday night in Tripoli, on the fourth day of protests in the country.
A funeral for a man who died after being shot by a bullet on Wednesday night had fueled further protests. Security forces said they had fired live rounds to disperse rioters trying to storm the government building.
The lockdown that Lebanon imposed since Jan. 11, is piling extra hardship on the poor, now more than half the population, with little government aid.
Lebanon has been in the throes of its worst financial crisis since 2019 and anger has erupted into protests over the economy, state corruption and political mismanagement.
A currency crash has triggered fears of rising hunger, but Lebanese leaders have yet to launch a rescue plan or enact reforms to unlock aid, prompting rebukes, including from foreign donors.
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