BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday observed the fourth anniversary of the catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port that killed more than 220 people, with fears of war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Several marches converged at the port to remember the victims and demand justice. Nobody has been held responsible for the 2020 disaster which is one of history’s biggest non-nuclear explosions. The blast also injured at least 6,500 people and devastated swathes of Beirut.
According to the authorities, the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where a stockpile of ammonium had been stored for years.
“The complete lack of accountability for such a manmade disaster is staggering,” United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a statement said.
“One would expect the concerned authorities to work tirelessly to lift all barriers… but the opposite is happening,” she said, calling for “an impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation to deliver truth, justice, and accountability.”
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In December 2020, the head of the investigation team Fadi Sawan charged former prime minister Hassan Diab and three ex-ministers for negligence, but as political pressure increased, he was removed from the case.
His successor, Tarek Bitar, suspended his probe in December 2021, after a barrage of lawsuits, while Hezbollah accused him of bias and demanded his removal.
But in January last year, he resumed investigations, charging eight new suspects including high-level security officials and the top prosecutor of Lebanon. The process has since stopped again.
Human rights activists have called for a UN fact-finding mission into the tragic incident, but Lebanese officials have repeatedly dismissed the demand.
