Beirut protests end with 3-day deadline for government

BEIRUT, Lebanon

 Massive demonstrations in Beirut ended Saturday evening with protesters giving the government a three-day deadline for bringing corrupt officials to account, ending months of political paralysis and resolving a weeks-long sanitation crisis.

Initially, dozens of protesters had refused to leave Martyrs’ Square and Riad al-Solh Square, the latter of which is home to Lebanese government headquarters, with a handful of masked stone-throwing demonstrators clashing with police.

Some protesters -- waving Lebanese flags and shouting anti-corruption slogans -- were arrested outside the government headquarters and parliament building.

The area has since been sealed off by police.

The protests began on Aug. 22, when hundreds of Lebanese demonstrators began an open-ended sit-in near government headquarters to protest perceived government corruption and a sanitation crisis that recently entered its third month.