Anti-Govt Protests in Lebanon Saturday August 29,2015

Thousands rallied in downtown Beirut Saturday August 29,2015 in the largest anti-government protest yet over a summer garbage crisis, chanting "revolution, revolution" and setting a three-day ultimatum for authorities to respond to demands, including the resignation of a Cabinet minister.

It signaled the most significant public outburst of anger against a dysfunctional system of government, but demonstrators have yet to chart a clear path toward change.

The government's failure to resolve the trash crisis has evolved into wider protests against a political class that has dominated Lebanon since the end of the country's civil war in 1990 and a government that has failed to provide even basic services to its people. 

Protesters filled up the square known as Martyrs' Square, shouting anti-government slogans in a peaceful, carnival-like atmosphere.

The main group behind the protests is an activist group that calls itself "You Stink," a catchy slogan playing off the garbage crisis that addresses Lebanese politicians. The group has attracted across the board support from ordinary Lebanese fed up with the system, and angered at the festering, uncollected garbage piling up near their homes.

In a speech before thousands of protesters in Beirut, "You Stink" representative Rasha Halabi gave the government 72 hours to respond to its demands, threatening to escalate protests by Tuesday evening if it doesn't.

Lebanese Model Myriam Klink (C) takes part in a mass rally in Beirut on Aug. 29, 2015.