Relatives of retired military personnel hold sit-in in Baalbeck

BEIRUT — Relatives of retired soldiers held a sit-in in the Bekaa on Sunday to denounce the "humiliation" of army veterans in Lebanon amid the country's economic collapse.  The protesters briefly blocked the main Rayak-Baalbeck road.

Here's what we know:

    • According to our correspondent in the region, mothers, wives and children of retired soldiers demonstrated in order to "defend the dignity" of their relatives. The demonstrators waved Lebanese flags and shouted slogans in support of the Lebanese army.

    • Like the Lebanese population — almost four-fifths of whom now live in poverty, according to the UN — retired soldiers have seen their living conditions and end-of-service allowances collapse in the face of the crises that have hit the country over the past two years. The national currency broke a dismal record earlier this month, trading at over LL28,000 to the dollar on the parallel market, as the official greenback rate remains pegged at LL1,507.5. Despite the escalating problems in the country, officials have still not put in place serious reforms to stem the collapse.