Fresh 'You Stink' protests hit Beirut despite heavy police presence

Hundreds of people took to the streets of downtown Beirut on Thursday to protest what they say is government corruption and inaction over the country’s festering rubbish crisis.

The Lebanese Daily Star reported that several people had been detained and wounded in clashes with the police.

Protests have been gathering pace over the last few hours, with people choosing to attend despite a heavy police presence. 

Barriers had been erected in an attempt to try to prevent people from reaching Nejmeh Square outside the country’s parliament, but people have been spotted removing them and cutting barbed wired around the barriers. Police fired water cannon but failed to disperse the crowd. Reports have since begun to emerge that tear gas has also been fired. 

Organisers said on social media that they expected numbers to keep growing into the night. The protests, widely known as You Stink, began in August when rubbish collection in Beirut stopped, causing the streets to be filled with waste. However, the movement has since grown, with protesters demanding more democratic reform, and an end to corruption.

After months of toing and froing, authorities said they have found a temporary solution and that sites across the country have agreed to take in the waste, but no long-term solution has as yet been agreed, with the issue continuing to ignite tensions.