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Tear gas grenades explode near Russian embassy in Beirut — diplomat

Embassy’s security had been tightened amid clashes between police and protesters

© EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH, archive

BEIRUT, January 16. /TASS/. Two tear gas grenades detonated on the premises of the Russian Embassy in Beirut on Wednesday, minister-counselor Vyacheslav Maksudov told TASS.

"Two grenades landed on our territory. No injuries were reported among the embassy staff and their family members," he said. "The embassy has taken additional security measures."

The diplomat said the embassy’s security had been tightened amid clashes between police and protesters in Beirut.

Earlier, Lebanese police used tear gas and rubber truncheons to disperse a crowd that gathered outside barracks of the country’s Internal Security Forces. Protesters demanded the release of activists, detained during Tuesday’s clashes with police on one of the Lebanese capital’s central streets, Hamra. In total, police apprehended 59 people during the unrest.

Protests took to the streets in Lebanon on October 17, 2019 and prompted the resignation of Saad Hariri as prime minister on October 29. On December 19, Lebanese President Michel Aoun chose the independent politician Hassan Diab to form a new cabinet. Diab won the support of 69 members of the 128-member parliament. The appointment of a new prime minister failed to appease the protesters, whose leaders demand the parliament be dissolved and early elections be called for.

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