Last week, army soldiers and riot police formed a barrier separating the protesters from the supporters of the Shia groups on Ring Bridge as rocks were thrown by both sides, television footage broadcast by Lebanese media showed at the time.

 

Lebanon’s economic crisis, long in the making, has come to a head: Pressure has piled on the Lebanese pound’s 22-year peg to the US dollar. A hard currency crunch has left many importers unable to bring in goods, forcing up prices. Banks have restricted dollar withdrawals and blocked nearly all transfers abroad.