New protest postponed in wake of trash crisis

Protesters urging the Lebanese government to resign over a trash crisis said on Monday they were postponing an additional demonstration and were regrouping after violent clashes erupted in Beirut on Sunday night.

The organizers of the "You Stink" campaign said the decision did not mean their protests were over.

It came after two days of protests that were sparked by anger over a trash collection crisis but evolved into an outlet for broader frustrations.

Protesters want not only a solution to the trash problem but also an end to corruption, political stagnation and to fix the country's crumbling infrastructure.

Both days of demonstrations ended in violence, though organizers accused unaffiliated "troublemakers" of attacking security forces.

"Today's demonstration at 6 pm has been postponed," the campaign announced on its Facebook page on Monday.

"The movement has not and will not stop," activists said.

"Postponing from today to another date this week is not a retreat. We need to reassess and organize our demands. We have not and will not give up on anyone or our just demands," they added.

The decision to postpone further demonstrations came after violence broke out at a protest in Beirut on Sunday night, leaving dozens of people injured.

It was the second time violence erupted between protesters and security forces in central Beirut after similar confrontations on Saturday.

The Red Cross said it took at least 59 injured people to local hospitals on Sunday night, and treated another 343 people at the scene for light wounds.

Tear gas fired

The violence erupted on Sunday night after some 200 youths entered the central Riad al-Solh Square, where demonstrators had been all day without incident, and began hurling projectiles at security forces.

The forces responded by firing tear gas and using water cannons.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Tammam Salam pleaded for calm following the Saturday clashes.

In a news conference, he acknowledged the frustrations of protesters and said he was willing to meet with them.

"If the Cabinet meeting on Thursday is not productive there is no need for further sessions," Salam said.

"We're heading toward collapse if things continue as they are."

The protests began over the government's failure to find a new site for Lebanon's trash after the country's largest landfill was closed on July 17.

The government had pledged to find a replacement before the landfill closed but failed to do so, leaving trash piling up in Beirut and its suburbs.