Army stops Beirut protest over trash collection

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- At least 49 protesters and police officers were injured in a Beirut, Lebanon, riot prompted by a demonstration protesting government dysfunction.

Garbage, going uncollected in the capital, was the flashpoint Saturday and Sunday night in a long-festering collective anger over the Lebanese government's inability to provide basic services. Several thousand protesters gathered in Riad, El Solh Square in central Beirut, the site of dozens of piles of uncollected trash. The square became a chaotic scene of tear gas, army tanks, explosions and burning rubbish.

Red Cross Lebanon reported 49 injuries, several of which were serious. Col. Joseph Moussalem of the Lebanese Security Forces said 31 police officers had been injured by thrown rocks and firecrackers. The protest was staged by a group called "You Stink," whose name is as much a commentary on the stagnant nature of sectarian Lebanese politics as it is on the garbage problem.

"This protest is about a government that can no longer sustain the basic needs of its people. This protest has truly unified everybody," protester Karma Hamady told CNN.