Protesters in Lebanon burned tires and closed several major roads on Thursday in a third day of demonstrations as the severe economic crisis gripping the country continued to spiral out of control.
The new wave of protests began on Tuesday after the Lebanese pound plunged to record lows on the black market, raising fears that the deterioration will only get worse. Prices have skyrocketed in recent months.
In a new low, a fistfight broke out inside a supermarket in the Hazmieh area near Beirut over the purchase of subsidized powdered milk. Some supermarkets and groceries have started setting restrictions on how much people can purchase amid limited supplies and as panicked residents stock up on food at home.
The supermarket issued a statement later saying the fistfight broke out when a shopper attacked a branch manager who told him he cannot buy large amounts of subsidized milk and oil without considering the restrictions.
While officially the US dollar costs only 1,520 Lebanese pounds, the black market price was around 9,950 pounds on Thursday — a day after briefly hitting a record high of 10,000. Just a few months earlier, dollars could be bought at a rate of about 7,000 pounds for $1.
On Thursday evening, protesters burnt tires to block roads leading out of Beirut in Jal el Dib and Furn al-Shebbak. The main road was also blocked in Zouk district to the north of the capital.
“They are humiliating people with a bag of milk,” shouted one protester at the rally in Zouk. “The ruling class must go.”
