Several wounded as army fires at protesters in northern Lebanon

The clashes took place in Beddawi, a town near Tripoli, after the army intervened to open a road being blocked by protesters, local media reported.

The army said five soldiers were injured by stones and fire bombs, and that soldiers responded by shooting into the air and firing rubber bullets.

They said "a number" of civilians had been injured, but did not elaborate.

Videos posted online showed large numbers of people running through the streets, some hurt, as soldiers chased them while gunfire can be heard.

It was a rare case of the army interfering to remove the road blocks.

The campaign of civil disobedience came on the 10th day of nationwide anti-government protests, which have been the largest Lebanon has seen in years.

They have paralysed the country, which is already grappling with a severe fiscal crisis that demonstrators blame on political elites who have ruled since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

More than a quarter of Lebanon's population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

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