6 dead, dozens hurt in Beirut amid protest over port probe
BEIRUT — Heavy gunfire broke out Thursday in Beirut during a protest organized by the Hezbollah group against the judge leading the probe into last year’s blast in the city’s port. At least six people were killed and dozens wounded in the most violent street fighting in the Lebanese capital in years.
The exchanges of fire along a former frontline from the 1975-90 civil war involved pistols, automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, and were reminiscent of that conflict. Gunfire echoed for hours and ambulances rushed to pick up casualties. Snipers shot from buildings. Bullets penetrated apartment windows in the area. Schools were evacuated and residents hid in shelters.
The chaos raised the specter of a return to sectarian violence in a country already embroiled in multiple crises, including one of the world’s worst economic crises of the past 150 years.
It was not clear who started the shooting, which began shortly after the start of the protest organized by the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its Shiite allies from the Amal Movement against Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the investigation into the massive port explosion in 2020. Hezbollah and its allies accuse the judge of singling out politicians for questioning, most of them allied with Hezbollah.
Tensions over the blast have contributed to Lebanon’s many troubles, including a currency collapse, hyperinflation, soaring poverty and an energy crisis leading to extended electricity blackouts.
Officials from both Shiite parties, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, had attacked Bitar for days, accusing him of politicizing the investigation by charging and summoning some officials and not others. They want him removed.
None of Hezbollah’s officials have so far been charged in the 14-month investigation.
The probe centers on hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate that were improperly stored at a port warehouse that detonated on Aug. 4, 2020. The blast killed at least 215 people, injured thousands and destroyed parts of nearby neighborhoods. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and further devastated the country already beset with political divisions and financial woes.
Bitar is the second judge to lead the probe. His predecessor was removed after legal challenges.
On Thursday, shortly before the planned protest, an appeals court denied a request to remove Bitar from his post filed by two lawmakers who are defendants in the case and allies of Hezbollah.
The calls for the judge’s removal upset many who considered it judicial interference.
In a statement Thursday, the two Shiite groups said their protesters came under fire from snipers deployed over rooftops. Among the dead — all Shiites — were two Hezbollah members.
The army said protesters came under fire, but later said an “altercation and exchange of fire” occurred as the protesters were headed to Justice Palace.