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A28 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 29 april 2020
Riots in crisis-hit Lebanon reflect growing poverty, despair

By BASSAM HATOUM and "The army command ex-
BILAL HUSSEIN presses its deep regret for
Associated Press the fall of a martyr," the
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — military said, adding that
Hundreds of protesters in an investigation has been
Lebanon's northern city opened into Samman's
of Tripoli set fire Tuesday death.
to two banks and hurled Smaller protests also erupt-
stones at soldiers who re- ed elsewhere in Lebanon,
sponded with tear gas and including in Beirut's city
batons in renewed clashes center, where hundreds of
triggered by an economic demonstrators gathered
crisis spiraling out of control Tuesday evening.
amid a weeks-long virus U.N. spokesman Stephane
lockdown. Dujarric said ïn reaction to
The clashes got underway the clashes that the world
in the afternoon hours after body urges protesters to
a tense funeral was held "exercise their right to pro-
for a 27-year-old man killed test peacefully and secu-
during riots overnight in rity personnel to protect
the country's second larg- peaceful protests and to
est city. Fawwaz Samman act proportionally in main-
was shot by soldiers during taining law and order."
confrontations that began An anti-government protester confronts police with a stone during a protest against the deepening Last week, scattered anti-
Monday night and died in financial crisis, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, April 28, 2020. government protests re-
a hospital hours later. Associated Press. sumed as authorities began
Tripoli, a predominantly lost more than 50% of its "Now we have reached a the streets after they threw easing a weeks-long lock-
Sunni Muslim city, is in one value, and banks have state where unfortunately stones at troops. Soldiers down to limit the spread of
of the most neglected and imposed crippling capi- you cannot control people also fired tear gas and rub- the coronavirus pandemic
poorest regions in Lebanon, tal controls amid a liquid- anymore. People are hun- ber bullets. in Lebanon, which has re-
and there were concerns ity crunch. But it appeared gry!" "I was driving here yes- ported 710 cases and 24
the confrontations would to be in a free fall over the Nearby, in a street lined terday with my wife and deaths so far.
escalate to wider chaos. last few days, selling as low with banks, dozens of pro- found protesters destroying In a statement about the
The violence was a reflec- as 4,000 Lebanese pounds testers hurled Molotov and smashing (the banks), overnight riots, the Leba-
tion of the rising poverty to the dollar, down from a cocktails, setting off blazing then they opened tear gas nese army said "trouble-
and despair gripping the fixed peg of 1,500 pounds fires in at least two banks. and bullets on us," said resi- makers who had infiltrated
country amid a crippling to the dollar in place for 30 Troops deployed quickly in dent Talal Sradar. the protesters to attack
financial crisis that has years. the area to try to prevent Earlier in the day, hundreds banks" also threw firebombs
worsened since October, "What you're seeing is a re- further riots, occasionally marched in the funeral pro- and grenades at the mili-
when nationwide protests sult of accumulated prob- firing rounds of tear gas to cession for Samman and tary, setting a military vehi-
against a corrupt political lems. We had a revolution, disperse the protesters. gunmen fired in the air in cle on fire. It said 54 troops
class broke out. people were suffering, then Riots intensified in the after- a display of anger and were injured across the
A lockdown to stem the came corona and people noon with protesters setting mourning. The man's body country and that the army
spread of the new corona- were locked in their homes two police vehicles ablaze was brought from his par- detained 13 people.
virus has further aggravat- for a month and a half as the army brought more ents' home and placed Public anger has mounted
ed the crisis, throwing tens without the state securing reinforcements into the briefly in front of his motor- against banks in Lebanon
of thousands more people food and drink or anything area to try to bring the situ- cycle repair shop before after they imposed capital
out of work. else for them," said protest- ation under control. Soldiers he was laid to rest in a Trip- controls on people's de-
The national currency has er Abdelaziz Sarkousi, 47. chased protesters through oli cemetery. posits. q

Bangladesh reopens 600 apparel

factories despite virus risk

is reopening hundreds of cols. Workers living near the March, when factory own-
them despite risks the dis- factories are the first to re- ers stopped production
ease might spread. turn to the production lines, apart from some sewing of
Rubana Huq, president of she said. personal protection equip-
the Bangladesh Garment At least 856 factories will be ment. Workers left the capi-
Manufacturers and Export- reopened soon, Huq said. tal, Dhaka, and the nearby
ers Association, or BGMEA, Bangladesh has the world's Narayanganj and Gazipur
said she was under pres- second largest garment areas in waves, heading
sure to reopen factories industry after China. It nor- back to their village homes.
after the pandemic cost mally earns $35 billion an- At a meeting Saturday,
In this April 19, 2018 file photo, trainees work at Snowtex garment the industry more than $3 nually from exports mainly Salman F. Rahman, an in-
factory in Dhamrai, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. billion in orders that were to the United States and fluential adviser to Prime
Associated Press. cancelled or suspended. Europe and employs about Minister Sheikh Hasina said
JULHAS ALAM Bangladesh ordered gar- Huq said Tuesday that 4 million workers, mostly the government was keen
Associated Press ment factories shuttered to about 600 factories had re- women from rural areas. to see garment makers
DHAKA,Bangladesh (AP) prevent the spread of the opened during this week, Bangladesh began its coro- slowly reopen their facto-
— Nearly a month after coronavirus, the industry adhering to health proto- navirus lockdown in late ries in phases. q