Protesters gathered Feb. 12, 2022 outside Prime Minister Najib Mikati's residence in Beirut. (Credit: Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — Dozens of protesters gathered late Saturday afternoon outside Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s luxury residence in downtown Beirut, near the up-scale Zaitunay Bay restaurant complex and the city's yacht marina.
Here’s what we know:
• The demonstrators rallied outside the residence, amid a security presence, to protest against the 2022 draft budget adopted by Mikati’s government on Thursday.
• The National News Agency reported that protesters called on the security forces posted outside Mikati’s residence “not to protect those in power.”
• The PM — a billionaire who owns a mega-yacht and luxury properties abroad — aroused anger with his statement after the budget passed Thursday calling on the Lebanese people to bear each other’s burdens amid the economic crisis and warning that the cost of state services such as electricity and telecoms would be hiked.