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Demonstrators in Beirut’s center try to seize government building

It is reported that thousands of protesters gathered in the square following the trade unions’ call

BEIRUT, March 22. /TASS/. A mass protest rally, caused by deterioration of the working people’s social position, took place in the center of the Lebanese capital on Wednesday. A TASS correspondent reports from the scene protesters gathered in Riad Solh square and tried to seize the Serail government palace.

Police fired tear gas. Some activists were hurt.

"Thousands of protesters gathered in the square following the trade unions’ call," said one of the protesters, engineer Hussein Hammoud. "The Lebanese are outraged by unprecedented price hikes and the collapse of the national currency. The government is not doing anything to improve the situation. The people took to the streets to fight for their rights."

The Lebanese pound fell to a record low on Tuesday, from 100,000 to 120,000 per US dollar. Since October 2019, when the country plunged into unprecedented socio-economic turmoil, the dollar has grown 80 times against the Lebanese pound.