Warnings ignored in Beirut explosion
Probe suggests circle of negligence in blast
BEIRUT — At least 10 times over the past six years, authorities from Lebanon’s customs, military, security agencies and judiciary raised alarm that a massive stockpile of explosive chemicals was being kept with almost no safeguard at the port in the heart of Beirut, newly surfaced documents show.
Yet in a circle of negligence, nothing was done — and on Tuesday, the 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded, obliterating the city’s main commercial hub and spreading death and wreckage for miles.
President Michel Aoun, in office since 2016, said Friday he was first told of the dangerous stockpile nearly three weeks ago and immediately ordered military and security agencies to do “what was needed.” But he suggested his responsibility ended there, saying he had no authority over the port and that previous governments had been told of its presence.
“Do you know how many problems have been accumulating?” Aoun replied when a reporter pressed whether he should have followed up on his order.
The documents surfacing in social media since the blast underscore the corruption, negligence and incompetence of Lebanon’s long-ruling political oligarchy and its failure to provide basic needs, including security.
Investigators probing the blast have focused on personnel at the Port of Beirut — Lebanon’s main port, so well known for corruption its common nickname is Ali Baba’s Cave.
So far, at least 16 port employees have been detained and others questioned. On Friday, investigators questioned and then ordered the detention of the head of the port, Hassan Koraytem, the country’s customs chief, Badri Daher, and Daher’s predecessor.
But many Lebanese say the rot permeates the political system and extends to the country’s top leadership.
The explosion of the ammonium nitrate, after apparently being set off by a fire, was the biggest in Lebanon’s history. The known death toll reached 154, including bodies recovered from the rubble Friday; more than 5,000 people were wounded.
Aoun’s comments were the most senior confirmation that top politicians had been aware of the stockpile.
“The material had been there for seven years, since 2013. It has been there, and they said it is dangerous and I am not responsible. I don’t know where it was placed. I don’t even know the level of danger. I have no authority to deal directly with the port,” he said.
He said the explosion may have been caused by negligence, but the investigation would also look at the possibility that it could have been caused by a bomb or other “external intervention.”
The ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilizers and explosives, originated from a cargo ship that had been traveling from the country of Georgia to Mozambique in 2013. It made an unscheduled detour to Beirut as the Russian shipowner was struggling with debts and hoped to earn some extra cash in Lebanon. Unable to pay port fees and reportedly leaking, it was impounded.