Malta supports Lebanon following Beirut explosion
Malta is supporting the Lebanese Republic with a financial contribution of €50,000 from its official development assistance budget following the devastating explosion in Beirut on 4 August 2020. The explosion reportedly killed at least 135, leaving more than 5,000 injured, and caused considerable damage to the city’s infrastructure.
The emergency response from the Maltese Government is an expression of full solidarity with the government and the people of Lebanon, contributing to the hope that the global humanitarian assistance will help the country to overcome the destructive aftermath in the shortest time possible.
Malta remains engaged as a proactive player in the global humanitarian scene. This commitment can be witnessed by the regular and timely financial contributions in direct response to new crises, such as last November’s earthquake in Albania and the various contributions in aid of various UN appeals amid the COVID-19 pandemic to assist the most affected.
In this spirit, an urgent appeal is being made for the international community to heed the call by the Lebanese Government for assistance without undue delay.
Lebanese army bulldozers were going through wreckage to reopen roads around Beirut’s demolished port Thursday, a day after the government pledged to investigate this week’s devastating explosion and placed port officials under house arrest.
The blast on Tuesday, which appeared to have been caused by an accidental fire that ignited a stockpile of ammonium nitrate at the port, rippled across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 135 people, injuring more than 5,000 and causing widespread destruction.
It also may have accelerated the country’s Coronavirus outbreak, as thousands flooded into hospitals in the wake of the blast. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to move in with relatives and friends after their homes were damaged, further raising the risks of exposure.
Lebanon, which was already mired in a severe economic crisis, faces a daunting challenge in rebuilding. It’s unclear how much support the international community will offer the notoriously corrupt and dysfunctional government.
Losses from the blast are estimated to be between $10 billion to $15 billion, Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud told the Saudiowned TV station Al-Hadath on Wednesday, adding that nearly 300,000 people are homeless.
The tiny Mediterranean country was already on the brink of collapse, with soaring unemployment and a financial crisis that has wiped out people’s life savings. Hospitals were already strained by the Coronavirus pandemic, and one was so badly damaged by the blast it had to treat patients in a nearby field.
The investigation into the explosion is focused on how 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilizers, came to be stored at the port facility for six years, and why nothing was done about it.