BEIRUT (Reuters) - A fire engulfed a protest camp in central Beirut on Saturday evening, burning tents and sending plumes of smoke into the air, as security forces faced off against protesters near parliament.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the fire. The Internal Security Forces (ISF) denied media reports that some of its forces had set the camp on fire.

Activists set up the camp in recent months as part of protests against a political class that plunged the country into its worst economic crisis in decades.