Security forces fire tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons in the violent clashes

Lebanese security forces fired teargas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters for a second straight day, ending what started as a peaceful rally in defiance of the toughest crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in two months.

The violence on Sunday comes on the eve of a meeting between the president and parliamentary blocs in which Saad Hariri, who resigned as prime minister on 29 October, is widely expected to be renamed to the post.

Hariri says he intends to make ‘positive shock’ to country gripped by anti-government protests

Lebanon’s prime minister, Saad Hariri, has announced his resignation, in a move set to spark more uncertainty in a country paralysed by ongoing political crises and a nationwide protest movement that has risen up in response.

Hariri’s announcement came several hours after large groups of youths overran protest sites in downtown Beirut, ransacking tents and stalls set up by thousands of demonstrators who for the past 13 days have demanded an overhaul of the ruling class and an end to rampant corruption.

Dissent gains momentum with country’s largest protests since Cedar revolution of 2005

The largest protests in Lebanon in 14 years are set to shut down the country for a fifth day on Monday, as a revolt against a weak government, ailing services and a looming economic collapse continues to gain momentum.

Demonstrators took to the streets of most urban centres on Sunday to rail against officials who they say are preventing badly needed reforms that would cut into the pockets of the ruling class, and are instead trying to recoup state revenues by taxing the poor.