Lebanese call for an uprising after protests rock Beirut

A man walks past a truck that was burned during a protest in Martyrs' Square, following Tuesday's blast in Beirut, Lebanon - Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters): Some Lebanese called on Sunday for a sustained uprising to topple their leaders amid public fury over this week’s devastating explosion in Beirut, and the country’s top Christian Maronite cleric said the cabinet should resign.

Protesters have called on the government to quit over what they say was negligence that led to Tuesday’s explosion. Anger boiled over into violent scenes in central Beirut on Saturday.

Christian Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai said the cabinet should resign as it cannot “change the way it governs”.

“The resignation of an MP or a minister is not enough... the whole government should resign as it is unable to help the country recover,” he said in his Sunday sermon.

Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said she was resigning on Sunday, citing the explosion and the failure of the government to carry out reforms.

Saturday’s protests were the biggest since October when thousands of people took to the streets to demand an end to corruption, bad governance and mismanagement.

About 10,000 people gathered at Martyrs’ Square, which was transformed into a battle zone in the evening between police and protesters who tried to break down a barrier along a road leading to parliament. Some demonstrators stormed government ministries and the Association of Lebanese Banks.People defied dozens of teargas canisters fired at them and hurled stones and firecrackers at riot police, some of whom were carried away to ambulances. One policeman was killed and the Red Cross said more than 170 people were injured.

Tuesday’s catastrophic explosion killed 158 people and injured more than 6,000, destroying parts of the city and compounding months of political and economic meltdown.

The prime minister and president have said 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, which is used in making fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years without safety measures at the port warehouse. The government has said it will hold those responsible to account.