Seven killed in Beirut violence

Seven people have been killed in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after a demonstration against power cuts descended into violence.

Shots were fired as the army intervened when protesters tried to block a road.


An activist from the opposition Shia Amal movement was killed, triggering violent protests in which six more people were killed, reports say.

Sporadic gunfire was heard as the fighting spread and Beirut’s airport road was temporarily blocked by tyres.

A security official said gunmen had opened fire on troops as they tried to break up the demonstration.

He said the soldiers had then fired warning shots to disperse the protestors.

But crowds of angry opposition supporters took to the streets around the capital, and in Shia parts of southern Lebanon, as news of the shooting spread.

BBC