Six dead as armed clashes erupt in Beirut during protests over judge
Six people have been killed and dozens more injured as armed clashes broke out in Beirut during a protest against the lead judge investigating last year’s massive blast in the city’s port.
Lebanon’s interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, said that many of those injured were shot by snipers who had taken positions in nearby buildings. He called the events “a very dangerous sign”.
The exchanges of fire involving snipers, pistols, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades were a dangerous escalation of tensions over the domestic inquiry. Gunfire echoed in the capital and ambulances rushed to the scene amid reports of casualties.
Four projectiles fell near a private French school in the city, causing panic, a security official said.
The students were forced to huddle in the central corridors with the windows open to avoid major impact, in scenes that were reminiscent of the 1975-90 civil war.
The protest outside the Justice Palace was called by the powerful Hezbollah group and its allies who are demanding the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the gunfire, but tensions were high along a former civil war front line between Muslim Shiite and Christian areas.
A journalist saw one man open fire with a pistol during the protest. Another witness said he saw people shooting in the direction of protesters from the balcony of a building.
At least two men were seen injured and bleeding. The army deployed heavily in the area following the shooting.
In a statement, prime minister Najib Mikati appealed for calm and urged people “not to be dragged into civil strife”.
Hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrates that were improperly stored at a port warehouse detonated on August 4, 2020, killing at least 215 people, injuring thousands more and destroying parts of nearby neighbourhoods.
It was one of the largest nonnuclear explosions in history and has further devastated a country already hit by political divisions and unprecedented economic and financial meltdown.
Mr Bitar, the second judge to lead the complicated investigation, has come up against opposition from Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group and its allies who accuse him of singling out politicians for questioning, most of them allied with Hezbollah.
None of the group’s officials have so far been charged in the 14-month-old investigation.
The armed clash could derail the country’s month-old government even before it begins tackling Lebanon’s unprecedented economic crisis.
Earlier yesterday, a legal complaint brought by two former government ministers and Amal MPS – Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zaiter – was dismissed in court.
Judge Bitar had wished to question the men on suspicion of negligence in connection with the port explosion
A cabinet meeting was cancelled on Wednesday after Hezbollah demanded urgent government action against the judge. One Hezbollah-allied minister said he and other cabinet members would stage a walkout if Judge Tarek Bitar was not removed.