Dozens hurt in Beirut clashes on port explosion anniversary

Memorials turned into protests on the one-year anniversary marking enormous explosion that devastated Lebanon’s capital.

A protester stands with a Lebanese national flag during clashes with army and security forces near the Lebanese parliament headquarters in the centre of the capital, Beirut. [Patrick Baz/AFP]

 

5 Aug 2021

Dozens of people have been injured in Lebanon’s capital when police clashed with protesters demanding accountability and justice for a devastating explosion at Beirut’s port last year.

Scuffles in central Beirut broke out between riot police and stone-lobbing demonstrators on Wednesday, a short distance from the main event marking the tragedy’s first anniversary.

Protesters lit a fire and tried to storm the parliament’s headquarters, whose members have been accused of stalling a probe into the disaster. Riot police responded by firing tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and water canon and urging “peaceful protesters” to leave.

Shortly afterwards, Lebanese television appeared to show a tank moving in to the area.

The Red Cross, which dispatched 21 ambulances and 100 paramedics, said it brought eight people to hospital and had treated dozens more on-site.

Shortly after 6pm (15:00 GMT) on August 4, 2020, a stock of ammonium nitrate fertilizer haphazardly stored at the city’s port exploded and left swathes of the Lebanese capital looking like a war zone.

One year on, no senior official has been held to account. A domestic investigation has yet to yield significant arrests or even identify a culprit, with political leaders widely accused of obstructing justice.

Medics evacuate a demonstrator affected by tear gas during the protests near parliament. [Aziz Taher/Reuters]

In a statement police warned:"In light of repeated attacks on members of the Internal Security Forces, we will resort to legitimate and proportionate means ... against non-peaceful demonstrators". [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]

Fireworks are set off during clashes between protesters and security forces [AFP]

An unconscious protester is evacuated away from clashes. The Red Cross, which dispatched 21 ambulances and 100 paramedics said it transported eight people to hospital and had treated dozens more on-site. [AFP]

The grim anniversary came amid an unprecedented economic and financial meltdown and a political deadlock that has kept the country without a functioning government for a full year. [Aziz Taher/Reuters]

Demonstrators accuse MPs of blocking the investigation into the explosion by refusing to lift immunity for senior politicians allegedly implicated in negligence which led to it. [Aziz Taher/Reuters]

The August 4, 2020 explosion killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and flattened entire neighbourhoods. [Patrick Baz/AFP]

Lebanese army soldiers deploy near the Lebanese parliament. Several thousand people gathered at various locations in Beirut on Wednesday, chanting slogans against the country's political class widely blamed for the port disaster. [Patrick Baz/AFP]

A domestic investigation has yet to yield significant arrests or even identify a culprit, with political leaders widely accused of obstructing justice. [Patrick Baz/AFP]