UPDATE – Lebanese protester succumbs to wounds in Tripoli

UPDATES CASUALTIES, CHANGES TITLE, DECK, LEDE, EDITS THROUGH

By Wasim Seifeddin and Mahmut Geldi

BEIRUT (AA) – A Lebanese protester on Thursday succumbed to injuries he sustained during clashes with security forces in the northern city of Tripoli, according to the official National News Agency.

The 30-year-old man died at a hospital in Tripoli.

At least 235 people were injured late Wednesday in clashes between protesters and security forces, officials and emergency services confirmed.

For days, Lebanon has witnessed protests against a coronavirus lockdown and what protesters describe as the government's inability to stem the spread of the virus as hospitals reach maximum capacity.

The protesters gathered in Sahet Al Nour in the center of Tripoli and attempted to storm the government building in the square.

Security forces tried to disperse them using tear gas while the demonstrators responded with stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks.

Hand grenades were thrown at security forces and two of them exploded, Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces said on Twitter.

The Lebanese government announced that it was extending a nationwide curfew to Feb. 8 as part of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Earlier Wednesday, the Lebanese army said in a tweet that 31 soldiers were injured due to an attack by protesters in the city of Tripoli while five protesters were arrested.

"There may be parties behind the moves in Tripoli that want to send political messages and there may be those who take advantage of the people's pain and the living distress that the poor and those with [low] income suffer from," Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri tweeted, without directly accusing anyone.

As of Wednesday evening, the number of COVID-19 infections in Lebanon totaled 289,660, including 2,553 deaths and 171,177 recoveries.

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