Demonstrators block the road at Kfar Dajjal, South Lebanon, to protest against the waste crisis, June 28, 2023. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — A few dozen residents of Koussaybeh, South Lebanon, blocked the Nabatieh-Sour highway on Wednesday afternoon, at the Kfar Dajjal locality, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The residents blocked the highway to protest their town's garbage crisis and poor management of local landfills.
The demonstrators used tractors and iron obstacles to block the road. They said they would only stop their protest when authorities find a solution.
"This situation is creating a health and environmental crisis affecting children and the elderly," the NNA reported.
The protesters denounce the Koussaybeh municipality's inability to open and manage landfills, calling on the region's mohafez to open a landfill.
The problem of waste collection often leads to the construction of open dumps in Lebanon, in all regions of the country.
A major crisis erupted in 2015 when the country's main landfill in Naameh was closed without an alternative, leading to an accumulation of untreated waste in the streets. The garbage pileups spurred major protests across the country.
