BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Interior Ministry removed concrete security barriers in central Beirut on Tuesday that had for years choked a major road nearby, days after the long-delayed formation of a new government.
The office of the outgoing minister, Nohad Machnouk, said he had ordered the barriers removed “owing to the end of security reasons,” due in part to his five-year “fight against terrorism.”
But the office of the new minister, Raya Al-Hassan, told local TV that she had taken the decision in order to remove a daily encumbrance and improve transport.
Cranes were brought in to lift the concrete panels, each painted with the Lebanese flag.
Cab driver Ibrahim Sauli, 65, said he was no fan of Hassan’s politics but added: “I raise my hat to this minister. She’s not scared and she wants to work properly.”
Hassan is one of a record four women ministers in the new cabinet. Machnouk will pass the baton at a ceremony on Wednesday.
In recent years, Lebanon has suffered from a spillover of tension and sometimes violence from neighboring Syria, where the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement has fought in support of President Bashar Assad.
The last deadly militant operation in Lebanon took place in 2016, when suicide attackers carried out a string of bombings in a village in the north.
Beirut ministry barriers removed after snarling traffic for years
Beirut ministry barriers removed after snarling traffic for years
- Cranes were brought in to lift the concrete panels, each painted with the Lebanese flag
Iran says students have right to protest but must know ‘red lines’
- University students in Iran started a new semester Saturday with pro- and anti-government rallies, according to local media
Tehran: University students have the right to protest but everyone must “understand the red lines,” the Iranian government’s spokeswoman said Tuesday, in the first official reaction to renewed rallies on campuses since the weekend.
“Sacred things and the flag are two examples of these red lines that we must protect and not cross or deviate from, even at the height of anger,” Fatemeh MoHajjerani said.
She said Iran’s students “have wounds in their hearts and have seen scenes that may upset and anger them; this anger is understandable.”
University students in Iran started a new semester Saturday with pro- and anti-government rallies, according to local media, reviving slogans from nationwide demonstrations that peaked in January and led to thousands of deaths.
Protests first began in December sparked by economic woes in the sanctions-hit country, but grew into nationwide demonstrations on January 8 and 9.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has recorded more than 7,000 deaths, while warning the full toll is likely far higher.
Iranian officials acknowledge more than 3,000 deaths, but say the violence was caused by “terrorist acts” fueled by the United States and Israel.
MoHajjerani on Tuesday said a fact-finding mission is investigating “the causes and factors” of the protests and will provide reports.
