Lebanon's president asks army, security chiefs to restore calm in Beirut

BEIRUT, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Lebanon's President Michel Aoun asked the army and security commanders to restore calm in central Beirut, where security forces clashed with protesters on Saturday night.

Aoun called on them "to protect the safety of peaceful protesters and of public and private property, and to restore calm to central Beirut," the president's office said. (Reporting by Ellen Francis; editing by Nick Macfie)