Beirut Explosion: What Happened in Lebanon and Everything Else We Know
Warehouse fire ignited a cache of explosive ammonium nitrate, authorities say, leading to more than two dozen arrests but no ministers among them
Nearly 200 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured in a massive explosion at the port in Beirut on Aug. 4, ravaging the heart of residential areas and the city’s vibrant downtown business district. Dozens of people are unaccounted for. Here is what we know so far.
What happened in Beirut?
A giant explosion at a warehouse in the port sent a shock wave through east and downtown Beirut at about 6 p.m. local time on Aug. 4. Videos of the blast posted on social media showed smoke billowing from the warehouse on the waterfront before a massive explosion produced a dome-shaped cloud that engulfed large parts of central Beirut. The force of the blast did tremendous damage to the surrounding neighborhoods and nearby buildings. The homes of tens of thousands of people were damaged by the blast.
Beirut Blast
Beirut was rocked by an explosion felt as far as 150 miles away in Cyprus on Tuesday.
What caused the explosion in Beirut?
Authorities say the blast occurred when a fire at a warehouse—Hangar 12—on the city’s waterfront ignited a cache of ammonium nitrate, an explosive material that had been stored at the site for more than six years.
What is ammonium nitrate?
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound most commonly used in fertilizers. It is also used to make explosives and was used in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Fire, Blast and Shockwave
How ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut's port caused chaos through the city
Who is responsible?
The Lebanese government is facing questions about why the explosive chemicals were stored at the port.
Lebanese authorities say the explosives originally entered Beirut’s port on a ship bound for Mozambique in 2013. Shiparrested.com, a shipping industry newsletter, said in 2015 that the vessel, which was carrying 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, was forced to dock in 2013 in Beirut due to technical problems. Its owners later abandoned it there. Local authorities transferred the explosives to a warehouse in the port and were meant to dispose of them safely, according to the newsletter, but they never did.
The Lebanese army on Sept. 3 said it found more than four tons of ammonium nitrate near Beirut’s port. An engineering team discovered the chemical during a search of a warehouse that was requested by the customs agency at the port, an army official said. It wasn’t immediately clear if the chemical was from the same stockpile that blew up, but it served as a reminder of the security lapses that led to the Aug. 4 blast.
Lebanese leaders have backed a probe that has focused on junior officials working at the port, but residents say they want national leaders held accountable for years of poor governance and corruption.
More than two dozen people have been arrested in connection with the explosion as on Oct. 22, according to state media. No ministers have been charged.
Escalating protests forced Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet to resign a week after the blast. Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, Mustapha Adib, was named the next prime minister on Aug. 31 but he also quit in September after failing to form a government.
On Oct. 22, Lebanon’s political elite named former Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the country’s next premier a year after he quit the position under pressure from popular protests. The move risks angering many Lebanese who sought a complete overhaul of the political system they blame for the deadly Beirut explosion.
What is the Lebanon’s economic situation now?
Lebanon’s already fragile economy has deteriorated amid lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus. The value of the country’s currency has plummeted in recent months, and its overtaxed power system has plunged the capital of Beirut into darkness for hours at a time. The economy is expected to contract by 12% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Foreign governments are rushing short-term aid to Lebanon. French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a United Nations-backed international aid conference that secured nearly $300 million in aid pledges aimed at providing the Lebanese people with medical help, food and means to rebuild schools and hospitals.
However, chronic corruption as well as Hezbollah’s dominance over Lebanon’s political system could impede large-scale aid or a bailout. The Iran-backed Shiite group has been designated by the U.S. as a terror group and the international community appears tired of bailing out Lebanon’s economy without meaningful reform.
Mr. Macron, on his second visit to Beirut since the explosion, on Sept. 1 pressed Lebanon’s leaders to form a government within two weeks and deliver long-delayed reforms, promising international aid in return that would help the country stave off an economic collapse. By the end of September, Mr. Macron accused Lebanon’s leaders of betrayal after they failed to form a government, saying they only serve their own interests.
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the country?
Lebanon’s health-care system has been strained by a rising number of coronavirus infections. Its caseload has increased to almost 65,000 as of Oct. 21. Beds earmarked for Covid-19 treatment are nearing capacity. Many of Beirut’s hospitals were quickly overwhelmed after the blast, owing to the country’s poor infrastructure and the strained resources that were devoted to combating the coronavirus.
How have Lebanese people responded to the explosion amid economic and political crises?
Critics of the Lebanese government are asking how and why the fire and resulting explosion took place. Tens of thousands of protesters converged days after the blast on central Beirut, some clashing with security forces and taking over government buildings, as they demanded revenge. More than 700 people were injured in the protests, according to first responders. The protests have since subsided.
The mass demonstration followed large protests that erupted in Lebanon in 2019 to denounce government corruption and mismanagement. Protesters took to the streets again in April as the coronavirus and financial crisis heaped economic pressure on ordinary Lebanese people. They attacked bank buildings as they vented frustration at soaring prices of food and other goods and what many Lebanese see as a sclerotic political system unwilling to fix the country’s problems.
The World Food Program is providing emergency support for the thousands of Beirut residents who have lost their homes. It also warned that the damage to the port—through which much of the country’s imports flow—could send food prices higher. Prices for some staples had already more than doubled this year in Lebanon.