Power cut protests

There were more angry protests against electricity shortages in Beirut on Monday.

AP news agency reports:

About 50 demonstrators set several tires on fire blocking a tunnel in Salim Salam street that links central Beirut with the airport as well as several other neighborhoods.

An army force arrived shortly afterward and dispersed the demonstrators peacefully and opened the road. No casualties were reported, and scores of soldiers, some carrying clubs, were seen in the area after the incident.

Later in the night, similar incidents occurred in the nearby areas of Dinnawi and Hay al-Lija. Earlier in the day, a road was blocked briefly in Beirut's southern suburb of Ouzai.

A senior army officer said later that troops would carry out patrols in different parts of Beirut and warned that "the army will not allow any attack on public property or blocking roads."

Similar protests, mainly by supporters of the Hezbollah-led opposition, have taken place in several areas of Beirut in the past few weeks.

Power cutoffs in recent months were extended for the first time to the capital, where more than 1 million Lebanese live.