Lebanese officials ‘were aware of risk’ before fatal blast
SENIOR Lebanese officials knew of the risks posed by the highly explosive material stored for years at Beirut’s port and did nothing to protect the public against it, an international human rights group said yesterday.
In a report on last year’s massive blast, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said those same officials are now trying to thwart the investigation.
The report comes as Lebanon marks one year since the horrific blast that ripped through Beirut on August 4, killing at least 214 people, injuring more than 6,000 and destroying or damaging thousands of homes and businesses.
The explosion was preceded by a huge fire at a port warehouse after hundreds of tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrates detonated.
A year later, the investigation has yet to answer questions such as who ordered the shipment of the chemicals and why officials ignored repeated internal warnings of their danger.
In the 650-page report titled They Killed Us From The Inside, the New York-based group published scores of documents and exchanges between Lebanese officials about the ammonium nitrates haphazardly stored for nearly six years at the port.
“The actions and omissions of Lebanese authorities created an unreasonable risk of life,” the report said, adding that evidence strongly suggests some government officials foresaw the possible devastation from the nitrate’s presence and tacitly accepted the risk.
“Under domestic law, this could amount to the crime of homicide with probable intent, and/or unintentional homicide,” it added.