Lebanon Protest Devolves into Gunfire

A demonstration in Beirut by anti-government protesters, and a counter-demonstration by supporters of two Shi’ite parties at odds with the protesters, descended into gunfire Monday night. Video footage aired by the private Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International indicates that shooting took place near a bridge where protests have taken place on a regular basis since erupting nationwide on October 17. The protests are over the country’s low standard of living and high foreign debt, as well as widespread allegations of government corruption, and have led Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to tender his resignation and that of his cabinet, which includes members of the two Shi’ite parties. Leaders of those parties, Hizbullah and the lesser-known Amal, have made it known that they want the government to continue and have begun to send followers into the streets to express their displeasure with the protests. On Sunday night, party members threw bricks, bottles and metal bars at anti-government demonstrators before the melee could be broken up by security forces.