Lebanese Protests Continue a Day after Demonstrators Form Human Chain

Lebanese security forces clashed with anti-government protesters blocking roads on Monday, the 12^th straight day of demonstrations. The day before, nearly 170,000 people stood shoulder to shoulder and joined hands along the country’s main coastal highway, from Tripoli in the North to Tyre in the South, forming a 170-km (105-mile) human chain. Hundreds of thousands of citizens have been demonstrating since October 17 in a series protests, dubbed the “October Revolution,” against perceived government mismanagement and corruption, the country’s severe economic crisis and sectarianism, bringing Lebanon to a standstill. The human chain was intended to symbolize national unity and peaceful cooperation among citizens of differing religious, ethnic and regional backgrounds. Some participants in the human chain wore the Lebanese flag over their shoulders and sang the national anthem to emphasize a common identity.