Protesting groups clash, riot in Lebanon
BEIRUT — Lebanese riot police fired tear gas at protesters Saturday in central Beirut, after an anti-government demonstration quickly degenerated into rioting and stone-throwing confrontations between opposing camps.
A few thousand demonstrators had gathered in Martyrs’ Square hoping to reboot nationwide protests that began late last year in an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. But tensions and divisions over the goals of the demonstration quickly became apparent as groups of young men faced off, with the army standing between them.
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Scattered groups of protesters arrived in the capital’s downtown area, many of them without masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, in response to calls for a centralized protest to press for demands.
Lebanese rose up against their political leaders in nationwide protests on Oct. 17 as the economic crisis spiraled, blaming them for decades of corruption and mismanagement. The protests, which further deepened the slump, eventually lost some momentum and later were put on hold after the outbreak of the pandemic.
It was the biggest protest since the government gradually began easing a virus lockdown last month. Saturday’s protest was called for by grassroots organizations and civil-society groups as well as several political parties, including some groups who have introduced for the first time demands for the Shiite militant group Hezbollah to disarm.
The participation of political groups and anti-Hezbollah slogans upset some activists and protesters who say the focus should remain on addressing the country’s economic crisis and calling for early elections.
Some of the banners held by protesters read “Lebanese Lives Matter,” a play on words from the “Black Lives Matter” slogan that has been used in some U.S. protests.
Afghan security forces targeted; toll 14
KABUL, Afghanistan — Two militant attacks killed 14 Afghan security personnel on Saturday in the northeastern Badakhshan province and in Kabul the capital of Kabul, officials said.
A roadside bomb killed 11 security force members in Badakhshan when it tore through a security vehicle responding to attacks on checkpoints in Khash district. Sanaullah Rohani, spokesman for Badakhshan’s provincial police chief, said a commander was among the dead, and that four militants were killed in the fighting.
An hourlong gunbattle also broke out in Kabul’s Gul Dara district when insurgents attacked a police checkpoint, killing three police officers, said Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian.
Both Afghan officials said the Taliban had carried out the attacks, although no one immediately claimed responsibility.
The Taliban on Saturday claimed an attack a day earlier that killed 10 policemen in the southern Zabul province. Afghan government officials said the Taliban ambushed a police convoy on Friday after setting off a roadside bomb.
U.S. forces had carried out two sets of airstrikes Friday against the Taliban in western and southern Afghanistan. These were the first U.S. strikes after a brief cease-fire declared by the insurgents for a major Muslim holiday last month.
Indonesia copter crash kills 4 soldiers
SEMARANG, Indonesia — An Indonesian army helicopter crashed on the main island of Java on Saturday, killing four of the nine people on board, officials said.
The Russian-made MI17 helicopter was carrying nine soldiers on a training mission when it went down and burst into flames in Central Java province’s Kendal district about an hour after taking off from the provincial capital, Semarang, said army spokesman Brig. Gen. Nefra Firdaus.
In addition to the four who were killed, five were hospitalized with serious injuries after escaping the wreckage, Firdaus said in a statement.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation of about 270 million people, has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, including plane crashes and ferry sinkings.
Police shield journalists at Italy protest
ROME — Right-wing protesters briefly confronted journalists and police in Rome on Saturday during a day of demonstrations around the country.
Soccer “ultras” and supporters of the far-right Forza Nuova movement massed on Rome’s downtown Circus Maximus field for an anti-government protest. Some made the fascist Roman salute.
At one point, some of the protesters tried to chase journalists away with bottles and flares. A line of riot police moved in, sparking several minutes of tension before the crowd moved elsewhere.
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Another anti-government protest was held in Milan.
Also Saturday in Italy, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the U.S. Consulate in Naples to show solidarity with George Floyd, the handcuffed black man who died while a white Minneapolis police officer’s knee was pressed on his neck and whose death has sparked a week of protests in the U.S. and beyond.
