BEIRUT (AP) — Supporters of the militant Hezbollah group have attacked demonstrators protesting against Lebanon’s political elite in central Beirut.
The attacks by young men armed with clubs and metal rods chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans began late Sunday and continued after midnight as riot police and soldiers tried to prevent them from reaching the protesters.
The attacks occurred after protesters blocked a major road that links eastern neighborhoods of the capital with western parts.
Protesters have been holding demonstrations in Lebanon since Oct. 17, demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has governed for three decades.
The protests have since snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step aside.
Late Sunday protesters closed major roads near Beirut and in the eastern Bekaa Valley.