BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah supporters attacked and ransacked the main anti-government protest site in Lebanon’s capital Tuesday, tearing down tents and smashing chairs.
Angry groups of men, some of them wielding sticks, began scuffling with protesters who were blocking roads in Beirut early Tuesday. Some of the men chanted slogans praising Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Hezbollah group, who has criticized the anti-government protests.
Groups of men could be seen massing near main protest sites as Lebanese security forces moved quickly to try to separate them from the protesters. The protesters could be seen taking up metal poles and wooden batons.
The unrest flared on the 13th day of mass protests directed at Lebanon’s government and political elite, who the protesters accuse of corruption and incompetence.