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Protesters seize Foreign Ministry building in Beirut - TV

According to the TV channel, police officers are holding negotiations with the protesters outside the building

© Maxim Grigoriev/TASS

MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Protesters have entered the premises of the Foreign Ministry in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Saturday, Lebanon's LBCI television station said.

According to the TV channel, police officers are holding negotiations with the protesters outside the building. The protesters have burned a portrait of President Michel Aoun and declared the Foreign Ministry premises their headquarters.

On Saturday, downtown Beirut transformed into a battlefield between the riot police and protesters. Sami Gemayel, the leader of Lebanon's Kataeb opposition party, called for mass anti-government protests. According to the Lebanese Red Cross Society, more than 120 people have been injured in the Saturday protests across the capital.

On August 4, a powerful blast ripped through Beirut’s port and generated a shockwave, which either destroyed or damaged dozens of buildings. According to the Health Ministry, 158 people were killed in the blast and more than 6,000 injured. More than 300,000 people have been left homeless. Among them are 100,000 children.

According to Lebanon’s Interior Ministry, welding work started a fire that detonated more than 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored in the port for six years after being seized by the customs service. A two-week state of emergency is in place in Lebanon’s capital, which was declared a disaster-stricken city.

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