Sunday's confrontation broke out near parliament a day after more than 370 people were wounded, the biggest casualty toll since the protests against the ruling elite began.
Out in numbers before the demonstration began, police intervened promptly when the rally turned into an impromptu march. Several units of police in riot gear were seen chasing protesters and several arrests were made.
The protest movement rocking Lebanon since October 17 revived this week as a deepening economic crisis increases pressure to form a new government.
Riot police fired tear gas and hurled sound bombs to disperse crowds on the Baghdad's strategic Sinak Bridge after protesters attempted to breach cement barriers previously erected by security forces.
Protests began in October 2019 and have already succeeded in ousting the prime minister. However authorities appear to be in no mood for further protests.
The halt in protests was also partly due to the holidays followed by soaring regional tensions between the US and Iran that eclipsed the protesters in Lebanon and Iraq demanding sweeping political change.
From protests in several Middle Eastern countries to the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand, the outgoing year will be remembered as one of the violent ones in the decade of the 2010s.
The protests come hours after President Michel Aoun postponed consultation to select a new prime minister after weeks of largely peaceful street protests descended into weekend violence, leaving dozens wounded.
Carrie Lam is in Beijing for talks with Li and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It's her first visit to Beijing since pro-democracy candidates swept local Hong Kong elections last month.
Former prime minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune has won Algeria's widely unpopular presidential election without the need for a second-round runoff, the electoral commission says.
Security forces say none of the demonstrators were taken into custody, while pro-Iran armed groups blamed by protesters for Friday's killings swore they had no role in the violence.
Tuesday marks the 71st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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