The Saudi Embassy in Lebanon announced on Saturday the success of the first phase of the crisis and emergency management plan aimed at evacuating Saudi citizens and securing their arrival at Rafic Hariri International Airport.
The embassy thanked the Lebanese army and internal security forces, and expressed hope that peace and stability would prevail in Lebanon.
Noteworthy, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to streets of Beirut, calling on the government to quit.
The protests erupted over the government’s plan to impose new taxes amid a severe economic crisis.
Lebanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters in Beirut early on Friday after they tried to push through security barriers surrounding government headquarters.
During Thursday’s protests, protesters expressed their anger at the cabinet’s members and accused them of corruption and mismanagement.
The protests are seen as the biggest since the garbage crisis sparked in 2015.
The government is discussing the 2020 budget, and new taxes have been proposed, including on tobacco, gasoline and some social media telecommunication software such as WhatsApp.
Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Choucair appeared on TV after the protests began on Thursday and said Prime Minister Hariri has asked him to drop the proposed tax on WhatsApp.
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