by arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Protesters again took to the streets of Beirut on Thursday night, after it was reported on social media that the dollar exchange rate had plummeted to 7,000 Lebanese pounds from about 4,500 a day earlier. This rate offered by dealers is almost five times the official exchange rate, which is pegged at 1507.5 pounds. However, the currency has lost more than 60 percent of its value since October amid the nation’s financial crisis and a wave of street protests sparked by the deteriorating financial situation and political corruption. The protesters were joined by supporters of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, who had previously been attacking them. The doors of the Central Bank on Hamra Street in Beirut were set on fire after demonstrators, chanting slogans denouncing banking policy, breached a security zone set up by the army and security forces. There were also attempts to storm the bank’s branches in a number of regions. Elsewhere, roads were blocked in several areas, including a southern suburb of Beirut that is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. Protesters also voiced their anger at rising levels of hunger caused by the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, and called for national unity and the rejection of sectarianism. Many demonstrators said they were hungry and could no longer afford to feed their children, as the value of their salaries had fallen below $50.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese cut roadways with burning tyres and rubbish bins across Beirut and other cities on Thursday in renewed protests sparked by a rapid fall in the pound currency and mounting economic hardship. The pound slid to about 5,000 to the dollar on Thursday and has lost 70% of its value since October, when Lebanon descended into a financial crisis seen as the biggest threat to stability since the 1975-90 civil war. From the northern city of Tripoli to the southern city of Sidon, Lebanese chanted against the political elite and set fire to major roadways across the country in the most widespread unrest since a coronavirus lockdown imposed in mid-March. “We can’t afford to eat or pay rent or anything like that, so we will stay here until the dollar rate goes down and we get all our demands,” said Manal, a protester in central Beirut.

Protesters in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-biggest city, threw petrol bombs at a central bank building, setting it ablaze and prompting security forces to fire tear gas, according to witnesses. Prime Minister Hassan Diab called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to be held on Friday to discuss the monetary situation, a statement from his office said. The crisis, rooted in decades of corruption and waste, has brought soaring food prices and unemployment and capital controls that have severed Lebanese from their hard currency savings.

The unrest comes as Beirut holds talks with the International Monetary Fund for a reform programme it hopes will secure billions of dollars in financing and put its economy back on track. Reporting by Issam Abdallah and Imad Creidi in Beirut; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Matthew Lewis Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.