Dozens injured in Beirut amid anti-government protests

Dozens of Lebanese citizens were injured Sunday in Beirut after anti-government protesters clashed with police in the nation’s capital.

Reuters reported that as many as 46 people were treated for injuries after protesters reportedly threw fireworks and stones at police who used tear gas canisters and rubber bullets on anti-government demonstrators.

Protests have ground the nation to a halt for weeks over allegations of corruption that forced the country’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, to resign in October as his government faced anger directed at political elites and a devastating economic crisis.

Hariri is reportedly expected to be renamed prime minister by a coalition of the country’s ruling political parties on Monday, a move that ignited Sunday’s protests and threatens to throw the country into further chaos.

“I came back today to pressure the parliament to make the right choice tomorrow and choose a prime minister from outside the political parties. If they don’t choose someone acceptable, we will be back to the streets again and again,” one protester told The Associated Press.

At least two offices owned by Hariri’s political party have been vandalized and set on fire in recent days, according to the AP.

The head of Lebanon’s Internal Security Force urged protesters to “calm down, no need for violence” at a rally Sunday, and authorities have urged residents to leave the streets.