Lebanon commemorates Beirut port blast amid war fears, four years after tragedy

Hundreds of Lebanese commemorated on Sunday, August 4, the fourth anniversary of the deadly explosion at the port of Beirut that plunged the capital into mourning, at a time when the country fears an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. Holding portraits of the victims, the demonstrators gathered in front of the port, denouncing the obstruction of the investigation due to political pressure and demanding accountability from those responsible.

On August 4, 2020, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history devastated entire neighborhoods of the capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring more than 6,500. The victims’ relatives, who have formed a collective that tirelessly fights for justice, marched at the head of the procession. The explosion was caused by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate were being stored carelessly, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.

“The complete lack of accountability for such a man-made disaster is astonishing”deplored in a statement the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron, who had visited Beirut in the wake of the explosion, recalled on Sunday his “demand for justice for all victims”In a speech, Cécile Roukoz, one of the lawyers for the victims’ families, listed the names of political and security officials who obstructed the investigation, calling on the judges to “to fulfill their duty”while top Lebanese officials have not commented on the anniversary of the tragedy.

A first judge in charge of the investigation in 2020 had to throw in the towel after indicting a former prime minister and three former ministers. His successor, Tarek Bitar, in turn attacked politicians, but parliament refused to lift the immunity of indicted MPs, the interior ministry opposed the questioning of senior officers, and security forces refused to execute arrest warrants. Forced to suspend his investigation for 13 months, he was prosecuted for insubordination by the attorney general when he resumed it after indicting several high-ranking figures.