Protests force U.S. envoy to cancel southern Lebanon visit

Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in southern Lebanon reported today (Wednesday) that Thomas Barrack, the U.S. special envoy for Syria and Lebanon, canceled his trip to Tyre and Khiam under the pressure of widespread popular protests.

According to the report, the city of Khiam witnessed a protest rally coinciding with the presence of the American delegation in Lebanon.

Demonstrators, chanting slogans against Washington’s policies, stressed that the United States is interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs and seeking to impose a form of “political guardianship” over the country.

Participants in the rally declared that the Lebanese people—especially in the south—have paid heavy costs in their struggle against Israeli occupation and will not bow to foreign pressure or diktats.

They emphasized that the principle of “preserving national sovereignty” is a red line for the Lebanese nation.

Barrack, who had recently arrived in Beirut, was supposed to travel to southern Lebanon as part of his itinerary, but due to the surge of public anger and mass protests, this leg of the trip was canceled.