BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the anti-government protests in Lebanon (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Hezbollah supporters have attacked and ransacked the main anti-government protest site in the Lebanese capital, tearing down tents and smashing chairs.
Angry groups of men, some of them wielding sticks, began scuffling with protesters who were blocking roads in Beirut early Tuesday. Some of the men chanted slogans praising Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Hezbollah group, who has criticized the anti-government protests.
Groups of men could be seen massing near main protest sites as Lebanese security forces moved quickly to try to separate them from the protesters. The protesters could be seen taking up metal poles and wooden batons.
The unrest flared on the 13th day of mass protests directed at Lebanon's government and political elite, who the protesters accuse of corruption and incompetence.
1:50 p.m.
Angry Lebanese men wielding sticks have attacked dozens of anti-government protesters blocking a main Beirut thoroughfare, prompting riot police to move in to separate them.
Tuesday's confrontation took place on a thoroughfare linking eastern and western Beirut. As the angry crowd swelled, some used sticks to push protesters sitting on the asphalt.
It comes on day 13 of anti-government protests, an unprecedented united expression of anger at what demonstrators call a corrupt and inefficient political class in power for decades.
The protesters have called on the government to step down, holding rallies in public squares, and promoting a civil disobedience campaign that includes blocking main roads.
But in recent days, criticism has surfaced of the roadblocks, particularly from opponents of the protests who accuse the demonstrators of paralyzing the country.