BEIRUT, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon witnessed Sunday nationwide protests over corruption and demanding for citizens' basic rights, the National News Agency reported.

Hundreds of people in Saida, Tripoli, Bekaa and Zouk Mosbeh marched, demanding for their access to uninterrupted power supply, proper solution to trash crisis and preserving the salary scale which was approved last year for public sector employees.

Protesters said that these marches in different areas of Lebanon are only a preparation for a bigger protest expected on Jan. 20 in Beirut to reiterate their demands.

Protesters demanded for reforms in the public health and education sectors in addition to imposing taxes on imported agricultural products.

Protesters also asked for the formation of a new effective government that deals transparently with citizens' needs and issues.

"We call upon officials to form a government that deals seriously with the alarming level of public debt," one protester said.

Lebanon's economy is saddled with one of the world's highest debt-to-GDP ratios as a result of recurring and widening fiscal deficits and economic slowdown. Enditem

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