Protesters clash with police after Beirut blast
ANTI-GOVERNMENT protesters clashed with security forces in Beirut following the devastating explosion which killed at least 137 people and injured 5,000 others.
Officers last night deployed tear gas against dozens of stone-throwing demonstrators near parliament. Many in Lebanon blame government negligence for Tuesday’s disaster, believed to have been caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the city’s port since 2013.
The explosion destroyed entire districts in the capital, with homes and businesses reduced to rubble. Rescuers were still searching for survivors amid fears dozens of people were buried beneath the wreckage.
Sixteen employees of Beirut’s port have been taken into custody, said a military judge leading the investigation. Many Lebanese blame the political elite, and the corruption and mismanagement that even before the disaster had pushed the country to the brink of economic collapse. During a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday, residents shouted “revolution” and “the people want to bring down the regime”.
Dozens held an angry rally in central Beirut, on the roads leading to parliament — pelting security forces with stones and setting fire to tyres. The security forces pushed them back, eventually firing a few rounds of tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Beirut’s hospitals remained overwhelmed by the wounded, and there were also fears of a spike in coronavirus cases. Mr Macron, the first world leader to visit Beirut since the tragedy, promised to press for political reform in the former French colony. He said he would organise a conference in the next few days with European, US, Middle Eastern and other donors to raise money for food, medicine, housing and other urgent aid.
About 300,000 people are homeless and officials have estimated losses at $10 billion to $15 billion. The ammonium nitrate had been left in a warehouse since it was confiscated from an impounded cargo ship. Protesters also held a rally outside the Lebanese consulate in New York.