Clashes in Beirut ahead of cabinet confidence vote

Clashes broke out on Tuesday between Lebanese protesters and security forces near the parliament building in central Beirut, where the new Cabinet is scheduled to submit its policy statement ahead of a vote of confidence.

Police threw a tight security dragnet around the area, and special forces and riot policemen forced open roads that were closed by protesters trying to prevent Cabinet ministers and legislators from reaching parliament.

Security forces used tear gas and water cannon to stop the protesters from approaching the area.

During the parliamentary session, prime minister Hassan Diab is expected to set out the government's plan to try get Lebanon out of its economic and financial crisis, the worst since the end of the country's 1975-90 civil war.

Lebanon has witnessed three months of protests against the political elite who have ruled the country since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

The protesters blame politicians for widespread corruption and mismanagement in a country that has accumulated one of the largest debt ratios in the world.