Lebanese Protesters Storm Foreign Ministry

Demonstrators stand on the premises of Lebanese Foreign Ministry during a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 8, 2020. (Reuters)
Demonstrators stand on the premises of Lebanese Foreign Ministry during a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 8, 2020. (Reuters)
TT

Lebanese Protesters Storm Foreign Ministry

Demonstrators stand on the premises of Lebanese Foreign Ministry during a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 8, 2020. (Reuters)
Demonstrators stand on the premises of Lebanese Foreign Ministry during a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 8, 2020. (Reuters)

A group of Lebanese protesters including retired army officers briefly stormed the Foreign Ministry building in the capital Beirut on Saturday as part of protests following the massive explosion this week.

The protesters said the Ministry would be the headquarters for a “revolution” and called on the current government to resign.

Retired army officer Sami Ramah read a statement on the building's steps after dozens of protesters pushed their way into the building. “This authority must step down,” he said.

Protesters raised flags with the image of a fist that has come to symbolize nationwide anti-government protests.

Some of the nearly 200 protesters entered the building and burned a few documents and pictures of Lebanese President Michel Aoun, representative for many of a political class that has ruled Lebanon for decades and which they say is to blame for its deep political and economic crises.

“We are staying here. We call on the Lebanese people to occupy all the ministries,” a demonstrator said by megaphone.

Rage against the government spiked after the Beirut port explosion Tuesday that killed nearly 160 people and injured 6,000 while leaving much of the coastline mangled.

Protesters gathered in central Beirut clashed with security forces. At least 100 were wounded.

TV footage later showed protesters also breaking into the energy and economy ministries and trashing the offices of the Association of Lebanese Banks in Beirut.

But the Foreign Ministry takeover was cut short when a large army reinforcement muscled in, forcing everyone out.

Public anger had already been rising in Lebanon before the blast because of an unprecedented financial crisis in which the national currency lost 80% of its value. Banks imposed informal capital controls in a controversial effort to control the collapse of the pound and foreign currency flight. The dire conditions were deepened with rising power cuts and concerns that hospitals were facing severe shortages and financial troubles.



Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
TT

Sistani Calls for Limiting Possession of Weapons to the Iraqi State

This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the media office of Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani shows him (L) during a meeting with the new representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq and head of the UN Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI), Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman (C), in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on November 4, 2024. (Photo by Sistani's Media Office / AFP)

Iraq's top Shiite authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani announced seven factors that would achieve Iraq’s stability.

He made his remarks shortly after Israeli television reported that he was among a list of assassination targets alongside leader of the Houthis in Yemen Abdulmalek al-Houthi, Lebanon’s Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem, commander of Iran’s Quds Forces Esmail Qaani and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Sistani received on Monday new representative of the United Nations secretary-general and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Dr. Mohamed al-Hassan of Oman.

A statement from Sistani’s office called on Iraqis to “derive lessons from the past and to work tirelessly to overcome setbacks and work on building a better future where everyone can live in security, stability and prosperity.”

Sistani has since 2015 been refusing to meet with Iraqi officials in protest over rampant corruption in the country and over how his recommendations have been ignored.

Overcoming corruption demands drafting a practical plan to run the country that relies on competency and integrity and that prevents foreign meddling in Iraq, he added.

It also called for imposing the rule of law and limiting the possession of weapons to the state, he stressed.

“The Iraqis have a long path ahead of them,” he said.

The Iraqi government had protested against the Israeli assassination target list, specifically Sistani’s inclusion in it, calling on the international community to condemn attempts to attack figures who enjoy influence and international respect.

Sistani also said he was “deeply pained by the ongoing tragedies in Lebanon and Gaza,” noting that it was “deeply unfortunate” that the international community and its institutions “have been incapable of imposing effective solutions” to end them or at least protect civilians from Israel’s assaults.

For his part, al-Hassan said he reached an agreement with Sistani to bolster Iraq’s regional and international standing.