Photo by: AFP

Soldiers, many dressed in riot gear, were deployed in force throughout the Lebanese capital where protesters burned tyres and overturned garbage bins in the streets barring traffic from passing through. The road to the airport was blocked impeding travellers from making their flights. Three army tanks and several army vehicles stood in between supporters of the rival camps along the Corniche al-Mazraa thoroughfare, as groups of youths from the Western-backed ruling bloc and the Hezbollah-led opposition chanted political slogans and traded insults.

"This is not an economic protest. This is an attempt to overthrow the government," said Osman, 27, a supporter of the government. "If they are trying to overthrow the government, then this is the start of the civil war. We need to protect our neighbourhood."

On the other side, opposition protestors painted a different picture of why they were taking to the streets. "The prices are too high. We can't make a living and need to take a stand," said Ali, 21. "They (the majority) get more money than we do. "A can of baby's milk used to cost 17,000 (Lebanese) pounds (a little over 11 dollars) and now it costs 31,000 pounds." His friend Hussein, 19, said: "The bottom line is we're waiting for the fight."

Older men sat on nearby sidewalks in front of closed businesses drinking Turkish coffee and smoking cigarettes and hookah pipes while watching the situation unfold. In other parts of town, some struggled to make their way to work.