The French government is calling for calm over the violence in Beirut, which has so far seen about six people killed and many more injured since Thursday.
On Thursday 14th October 2021, spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while reacting to the deadly violence in Beirut, stated that
the French government is calling for an immediate “appeasement” and reiterated the need for Lebanese justice “to be able to work independently and impartially.
“France expresses its deep concern in view of the recent obstacles to the proper conduct of the investigation into the explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the violence that occurred in this context. It calls on everyone to appease “, the government said.
Six people were killed in protests organized on Thursday by Hezbollah and its allies against the judge responsible for investigating the explosion at the port of the capital, in the summer of 2020.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for calm to be restored and warned against attempts to drag Lebanon into violence.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi told a press conference that the death toll had climbed to six. He said that some of the victims where shot in the head.
The deaths include a 24-year-old woman who was hit in the head by a stray bullet while inside her home, a doctor at the Sahel hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs told AFP.
The Lebanese Red Cross put the number of wounded at at least 30. AFP correspondents in the area heard heavy gunfire. Lebanese television broadcast images of men carrying rifles and heavy weaponry.
The army reported “bursts of gunfire in the area of Tayouneh – Badaro,” a largely residential area of Beirut.
“The army rushed to cordon off the area and deploy in its neighbourhoods and their entrance. Patrols started as did the search for the shooters to detain them,” it said.
In a follow-up statement, the military warned that it would open fire at anyone firing live rounds, calling on civilians to evacuate the area.