A road cut in Abra, South Lebanon, on Jan. 19, 2023, by angry protesters after record depreciation of the Lebanese lira. (Courtesy of: Mountasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Several roads were blocked on Thursday night by angry protesters in Lebanon after a record depreciation of the Lebanese lira, which surpassed the threshold of LL50,000 against the dollar on the parallel market earlier in the day, a sign of the deepening economic collapse that began in the summer of 2019.
According to several local media outlets, roads were briefly cut off in the Qasqas neighborhood of Beirut late in the day. Similar scenes took place in Abra, South Lebanon, near Saida, according to our correspondent in the area Muntasser Abdallah. Public roads were blocked by motorists and a group of youths, according to images sent by our correspondent.
Shortly after the threshold of LL50,000 was reached, the Energy Ministry announced new, higher fuel prices.
The depreciation of the national currency, which has lost more than 96 percent of its value in three years, has plunged more than three-quarters of the Lebanese below the poverty line. It comes despite a preliminary agreement between Beirut and the International Monetary Fund, which calls for the introduction of a floating exchange rate. The agreement also calls for additional reforms to be undertaken by the Lebanese government in order to unlock massive financial assistance from the IMF.