Beirut port blast: Aoun promises justice

Nobody has been held accountable for August 4, 2020 catastrophic event

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun yesterday vowed justice and accountability five years after a catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port, as the investigating judge finished questioning defendants, a judicial official said.

Nobody has been held accountable for the August 4, 2020 blast — one of the world’s largest nonnuclear explosions, which devastated swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring over 6,500.

Authorities have said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years after arriving by ship, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.

Judge Tarek Bitar resumed his investigation this year as Lebanon’s balance of power shifted following a war between Israel and Hezbollah that weakened the Iran-backed militant group, which had spearheaded a campaign for Bitar’s resignation.