Lebanon protesters block roads, defy pleas from top leaders

Lebanese demonstrators set up barricades and parked cars across key roads on Monday to protest corruption and press their demands for a radical overhaul of the political system.

The protesters defied pleas from top leaders and sought to keep Lebanon on lockdown for the 12th consecutive day by cutting off some of the main thoroughfares, including the main north-south highway, AFP reported.

They are demanding more freedom, better services and an end to corruption and sectarian politics, among other things.

The unprecedented mobilization was sparked by a proposed tax on voice calls via messaging apps on October 17 and has since morphed into a massive grassroots push to drive out a political elite which has remained virtually unchanged in three decades.