Lebanese Protesters Clash with Soldiers, on the First Anniversary of the Beirut Port Explosion, August 4, 2021

Lebanese Protesters Clash with Soldiers, on the First Anniversary of the Beirut Port Explosion

Lebanon 24, August 4, 2021


People look at demonstrators gathering near the damaged Beirut port, on the first anniversary of the explosion, August 4, 2021

Thousands of Lebanese protesters mark year since port blast with demand for justice

The Daily Star, Reuters, August, 04, 2021, 06:39 PM

BEIRUT:

Thousands of Lebanese gathered in Beirut on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of a catastrophic explosion at the port, holding pictures of the dead and demanding justice.

One year since the disaster, caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years, no senior official has been held to account, infuriating many Lebanese as their country also endures financial collapse.

As a memorial service got underway at the port, water cannon and tear gas were fired at protesters who had been throwing stones towards security forces near parliament, live TV footage showed. Six people were wounded, a security source said.

As the crowds built, two people were injured in scuffles between supporters of rival parties in the nearby Gemmayzeh area, a security source said. Gun shots were fired into the air.

One of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, the explosion killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and was felt in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 miles) away.

An investigation is stalling, with requests denied for immunity to be lifted from senior politicians and former officials. All those sought for questioning by the Lebanese investigators have denied any wrongdoing.

"We will not forget and we will not forgive them ever. And if they can't bring them to account, we will by our own hands," said Hiyam al-Bikai, dressed in black and clutching a picture of her son, Ahmad, who was killed when masonry fell on his car.

A huge banner on a building overlooking the port said: "Hostages of a Murderous State."

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has led Western pressure for reform in Lebanon, said its leaders owed the people the truth and heaped new criticism on the governing elite for failing to deal with the economic crisis.

The damage is still visible across much of Beirut. The port resembles a bomb site, its huge wrecked grain silo unrepaired.

Thousands of people, many waving Lebanese flags, descended on the port and nearby areas.

Lebanese army helicopters flew overhead giving off red and green smoke - the national colours - as Quran verses were recited at the memorial service in the port, where a mass was due to be held. Names of the victims were read in commemoration.

"We want our rights - the rights of the martyrs and victims. Their immunities are not more dear than the blood of the martyrs and victims," said Hanan Hoteit, whose relative, Tharwat, was killed at the port.

"Because you destroyed our future, accountability is coming," declared one banner.

A Human Rights Watch report released this week concluded there was strong evidence to suggest some Lebanese officials knew about and tacitly accepted the lethal risks posed by ammonium nitrate.

Reuters reported last August that Prime Minister Hassan Diab and President Michel Aoun were both warned in July last year that the chemicals posed a security risk and could destroy the capital if they exploded.

Aoun has said he is ready to testify if needed, and that he supports an impartial investigation.

Diab, who quit after the blast, has said his conscience is clear.

The chemicals arrived on a Russian-leased cargo ship that made an unscheduled stop in Beirut in 2013. An FBI report seen by Reuters last week estimated around 552 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded, less than the 2,754 tonnes that arrived.

That discrepancy is one of the many questions that remain unanswered. No one ever came forward to claim the shipment.

PRAYERS

Leading prayers at a hospital that was badly damaged in the blast, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi said the investigation must continue until punishment is meted out to those who deserve it.

Nobody was above the law, he said, and "whoever obstructs justice is a criminal, even if they are highly placed".

At the time of the explosion, Lebanese were already facing deepening hardship due to the financial crisis caused by decades of state corruption and waste.

The meltdown worsened throughout the last year with the governing elite failing to establish a new cabinet to start tackling the crisis even as poverty has soared and medicines and fuel have run out.

Hosting a donors' conference for Lebanon, Macron pledged a further 100 million euros ($120 million) in emergency aid and 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. He is trying to raise more than $350 million.

"Lebanese leaders seem to bet on a stalling strategy, which I regret and I think is a historic and moral failure," he said.

Pope Francis wished Macron success and said donors should help Lebanon "on a path of resurrection". He said he had a great desire to visit Lebanon, where many had lost "even the illusion of living".

The state has taken no steps towards reforms that might ease the economic crisis, with the sectarian elite locked in a power struggle over cabinet posts.

Thousands mark year since port blast with demand for justice | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR

Dozens hurt in Lebanon clashes on blast anniversary

The Daily Star, AFP, August, 04, 2021, 08:53 PM

BEIRUT:

Dozens were injured Wednesday when Lebanese police clashed with protesters demanding accountability for last year's Beirut port explosion, a short distance from the main event marking the tragedy's first anniversary.

Scuffles in central Beirut broke out between riot police and stone-lobbing protesters, who lit a fire and tried to storm the parliament's headquarters, whose members have been accused of stalling a probe into the disaster.

Riot police responded by firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water canons, and urging "peaceful protesters" to leave.

"In light of repeated attacks on members of the Internal Security Forces, we will resort to legitimate and proportionate means ... against non-peaceful demonstrators," police said in a statement.

Shortly afterwards, Lebanese television appeared to show a tank moving in to the area.

The Red Cross, which dispatched 21 ambulances and 100 paramedics, said it transported eight people to hospital, and had treated dozens more on-site.

Nearby, a few hundred of metres (yards) away at the port, thousands gathered to mark the first anniversary of the explosion which killed at least 214 people.

Survivors and relatives of blast victims carried flags and portraits of the dead, as prayers and mournful tunes rang out amid a mix of grief and anger.

There were no reports of violence there.

Dozens hurt in Lebanon clashes on blast anniversary | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR

Lebanon 24: This is what happened in Beirut port on August 4, 2020

The explosion killed 214 people, injured 6,500, displaced 300,000, and damaged 73,000 apartments.

كارثة مرفأ بيروت...هذا ما حصل بالتفاصيل منذ عام حتى اليوم

04-08-2021 | 21:00

ميشال أبو سليمان يأكل من القمامة.. ورسالة الى اللبنانيين

وكأن الزمان توقف بعد الرابع من آب 2020، ولا تزال مشاهد الدمار تحرق قلوب اللبنانيين بالأخص أهالي الضحايا من دون أن تعرف الحقيقة حتى اليوم. لسبب غير معلوم حتى الآن، انفجرت مئات الأطنان من نترات الأمونيوم المخزنة في أحد مستودعات مرفأ بيروت منذ سنوات، متسببة في غيامة دخانية تشبه تلك التي تخلفها الانفجارات النووية، ورغم فرق التأثير، فإن الخسائر كانت فادحة. تسبب هذا الانفجار في مقتل 214 شخصًا على الفور، بعضهم لم يستدل على أثره حتى، وإصابة 6500 شخص آخر، وتشرد 300 ألف مواطن، وامتد تأثير الانفجار إلى أغلب أحياء العاصمة اللبنانية حيث تضررت 73 ألف شقة. وترتب عليه انفجارا آخر في الأوضاع السياسية والاقتصادية للبلد الذي يعني تدهورا من ذي قبل بالفعل. وفي ما يلي استعراض لأهم الأحداث منذ وقوع الانفجار وحتى اليوم وفقا لصحيفة "ذا ناشونال".

عشية الذكرى الأولى لـ 4 آب.. الحقيقة غائبة مقدمات النشرات المسائية وفقا لمؤشرات التحقيق الأولية، وقع الانفجار في العنبر 12 بمرفأ بيروت، وتسبب فيه 2750 طنا من نترات الأمونيوم المخزنة منذ عام 2014، في المرفأ. 8 آب 2020 تظاهر الآلاف من المواطنين الغاضبين من قادتهم بسبب الانفجار، ووقعت اشتباكات مع قوات الأمن. في اليوم التالي، تعهد المجتمع الدولي بحوالي 300 مليون دولار كمساعدات طارئة. ويتعهد بالوقوف إلى جانب لبنان، لكنه طالب بتوزيع المساعدات مباشرة على السكان وإجراء تحقيق شفاف في الانفجار. 10 آب 2020 أعلنت حكومة رئيس الوزراء حسان دياب الاستقالة وتسيير الأعمال لحين تشكيل حكومة أخرى. 14 آب 2020 عين مجلس القضاء الأعلى قاضي التحقيق العسكري فادي صوان لقيادة التحقيق في الانفجار. 17 آب- 2 أيلول أمر صوان باعتقال 25 من موظفي الميناء ومسؤولين من رتب متوسطة إلى منخفضة. الأول من أيلول 2020 زار الرئيس الفرنسي إيمانويل ماكرون لبنان، والتقى عددا من المواطنين والشخصيات العامة والمسؤولين، وتعهد بمساعدة بيروت، مطالبا القادة السياسيين بتجاوز خلافاتهم ووضع حدا لانهيار الدولة.

كارثة مرفأ بيروت...هذا ما حصل بالتفاصيل منذ عام حتى اليوم (lebanon24.com)

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