On 27 May 2004, six people were killed and dozens wounded by the Lebanese army during a union demonstration in the Hey el-Sellom neighbourhood in the southern Beirut suburb. The demonstrations in various Lebanese regions were in protest against the high prices of fuel and the high cost of living.

Angry demonstrators burned the Ministry of Labour building, and security forces arrested over 130 protesters in one of the fiercest labor protests that Lebanon witnessed since he end of the civil war. The army used live bullets against the protesters, while the Lebanese government headed by Rafik Hariri was preparing to receive the international delegations participating in the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to be held in Beirut.

The events of Hey el-Selum were captured by leftwing activists in the film Leaded/Unleaded.