Lebanon’s Hariri backs businessman Khatib for prime minister

Lebanon’s Saad al-Hariri on Tuesday backed businessman Samir al-Khatib to head the next government, though he said some details still had to be discussed.

Hariri, who resigned as prime minister in late October under pressure from protests against the ruling elite, told reporters on Tuesday that he would not take part in the new government.

The news of the possible nomination of Samir Khatib, the head of a major contracting and construction company, sparked spontaneous late-night protests. Hundreds gathered at a strategic intersection in Beirut, known as the Ring Road, blocking the road and chanting against Khatib. Security forces tried to prevent the protesters from blocking the road that links east to west Beirut, and after a warning, used tear gas to disperse them.

“We will not accept this as people, and we will not accept this as revolutionaries, because we know that we are heading toward the abyss with this government,” Elie Kayrouz, an anti-government protester at the Ring Road, said, describing Khatib and other names leaked to the media who may form the new Cabinet as connected to the outgoing one.

Source: Reuters