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Gallery|Beirut explosion

Scuffles as families demand accountability over Beirut port blast

Police use tear gas to disperse demonstrators outside the home of the Lebanese interior minister, accused of stalling the probe.

The mother of a victim of the Beirut port explosion shouts slogans as she shows her hand covered with red paint during the protest outside the house of caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi in the capital [Wael Hamzeh/EPA]
Published On 14 Jul 202114 Jul 2021
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Riot police fired tear gas and scuffled with protesters – mostly relatives of victims of the Beirut port explosion last year – outside the home of Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister, Mohamed Fehmi.

The demonstrators on Tuesday demanded an end to what they call the obstruction of an investigation into one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. They carried empty coffins and then tossed them into the yard of the building, pushing their way through security guards to hold a symbolic burial ceremony.

The August 4, 2020 explosion at the port devastated the capital, killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands. Hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilisers that had been improperly stored in the port for years ignited, causing the explosion. Many blame officials for keeping the explosive material stored at the port.

“He killed us another time,” said Tracy Naggear, whose three-year-old daughter was one of the youngest victims of the blast. She was referring to Fehmi’s decision to reject a request by the judge investigating the explosion to question one of Lebanon’s most senior generals, the head of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim.

Investigating Judge Tarek Bitar said earlier this month he intends to pursue senior politicians and former and current security chiefs in the case, and requested their immunity be lifted so he can prosecute them.

Families of the victims and survivors praised the judge’s move as a bold step. His predecessor leading the probe was removed after he accused two former ministers of negligence that led to the explosion.

Naggear said the symbolic burial outside Fehmi’s building was held at the scene of the “second crime” against the families seeking justice.

The gathering turned rowdy when dozens of protesters stormed Fehmi’s building, breaking down two metal gates, and scuffled with riot police who beat them with clubs. Police fired tear gas to push back against the protesters. The push set off pitched street battles with stone-throwing protesters. Many were injured and treated on the scene.

The protesters sprayed the word “killer” in red at the entrance of Fehmi’s building as men pelted the building with tomatoes.

“Mohamed Fehmi, we will not leave you alone. Lift the immunity,” said Ibrahim Hoteit, whose brother Tharwat, was killed in the blast.

People carry placards and shout slogans against the government and parliament members during the protest in Beirut. The protesters are asking for the lifting of immunity of three MPs, and for senior politicians and former and current security chiefs in the case to be investigated in connection to last year's port explosion. [Wael Hamzeh/EPA]
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Demonstrators and families of the Beirut explosion victims gather with empty coffins for the protest outside Fehmi's residence in the Qoraitem neighbourhood of western Beirut. [AFP]
Protesters scuffle with riot police as they tried to storm Fehmi's building. Family members are angry with Fehmi because he rejected a request by the judge investigating the explosion to question Major General Abbas Ibrahim, who is one of Lebanon's most prominent generals and heads of the General Security Directorate. [Bilal Hussein/AP Photo]
The angry crowd, demanding accountability as the anniversary of the disaster approaches, were pushed back by riot police who swung batons and fired tear gas to disperse them. [Wael Hamzeh/EPA]
Destroyed mock coffins litter the road outside Fahmi's house. [Wael Hamzeh/EPA]
The protesters sprayed the word 'killer' in red at the entrance of Fehmi's building as men pelted the building with tomatoes. [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]
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The August 4, 2020 explosion at the port devastated the capital, killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands. [Hussein Malla/AP Photo]
Tear gas fumes rising over the broken, empty coffins outside the entrance to Fahmi's house. [Anwar Amro/AFP]
The standoff, which started in the afternoon, escalated with the arrival of dozens of angry demonstrators after sunset. [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]


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