Lebanon's interior minister warns protesters against sit-ins

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's interior minister said on Wednesday any future sit-ins by protesters in government institutions will be broken up by force if needed, a day after demonstrators briefly occupied the environment ministry. Lebanon has been hit by a series of protests over a trash crisis that has led to piles of refuse building up in the streets in recent weeks, as well as anger about political paralysis. Dozens of activists from the "You Stink" protest movement entered the environment ministry on Tuesday and called on the environment minister to resign. Any such sit-ins in the future will be dispersed "from the first moment by law and by force if they do not respond," Nohad Machnouk told a televised news conference. The protest ended nine hours later with all demonstrators leaving the building. Protesters on Tuesday said police had beaten them. Machnouk said at the time an agreement had been reached for the protesters to leave peacefully. At the news conference, Machnouk defended the actions of the security forces, who he said had acted as expected. However, eight members of the security services were referred to a disciplinary council for acting without following orders at a previous protest, he said. The protest movement has brought thousands of Lebanese onto the streets angry over the lack of trash collection, which has also become a rallying point for those frustrated by widely perceived government corruption and incompetence. More than two decades since the end of its civil war, Lebanon continues to suffer from daily power cuts and frequent water shortages. It is also struggling with an influx of more than 1 million refugees from the conflict in neighbouring Syria. (Reporting by Mariam Karouny and Sylvia Westall, editing by Larry King)