ALBAWABA - Today, Aug. 4, marks the fourth anniversary of the Beirut port blast which occurred on August 4, 2022, and was labelled as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in recent history.
Lebanese are expected to organize protests and rallies demanding justice and accountability for those involved in the port explosion which killed 220 people and injured over 7,000, as well as caused extensive property damage.
Years after the Beirut port blast, the investigation into it is still faltering due to political and judicial pressure, as Lebanon suffers government deadlock in addition to its multiple failures to elect a new president after ex-President Michel Aoun.
Not only the political and economic crisis but also the current situation in Lebanon could lead to further delay and obstruct the investigation indefinitely as the tension between Hezbollah and Israel is on the rise, especially after the Israeli attacks on Southern Lebanon which resulted in the killing of many Hezbollah members and leaders including Fuad Sukur.
Hassan Nasrallah said in an earlier speech that the war with Israel has entered a 'new phase' after the killing of top commander Fuad Shukr in a Beirut air raid on July 30, which was followed by the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, in Tehran.
The Lebanese authorities attributed the Beirut port explosion to the storage of large quantities of ammonium nitrate inside the building without preventive measures following the outbreak of a fire whose causes were unknown.
It later emerged that officials at various levels were aware of the risks of storing the material and did nothing. Since then, the investigation into the causes has remained stalled, amid political and judicial complications, France 24 reported.
Beirut port blast investigation development:
Since 2020, no significant development has been made regarding the investigation of the Beirut explosion probe. The first judge who was appointed was Fadi Sawan, but he was quickly dismissed in February 2021 after he filed a lawsuit against then-Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers on charges of "negligence, dereliction of duty, and causing death" and wounding hundreds of people.
After Sawan, Judge Tarek Bitar was appointed by the Lebanese authorities but hefaced the same issues when he tried to question Lebanese officials including Diab.
France 24 further said that the previous parliament refused to lift the immunity of the aforementioned deputies, and the Interior Ministry refused to grant him permission to interrogate security leaders, as well as the security forces refused to execute arrest warrants he issued.
The investigation then became mired in political complications and then in judicial chaos after Bitar was besieged by dozens of lawsuits to suspend him, most of which were filed by defendant officials.
