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| Beirut explosion: Angry protesters take to streets | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Thousands of Lebanese, furious with their political leaders, are taking to the streets again, four days after a huge explosion left at least 154 dead. | |
| Some protesters have clashed with police who fired tear gas. | |
| Tuesday's blast at the port devastated parts of the city and has reignited deep-seated anger at what many see as an inept and corrupt political class. | Tuesday's blast at the port devastated parts of the city and has reignited deep-seated anger at what many see as an inept and corrupt political class. |
| The explosion was caused by a huge stock of ammonium nitrate that had been seized from a ship but never moved. | The explosion was caused by a huge stock of ammonium nitrate that had been seized from a ship but never moved. |
| The government has promised to find those responsible. | The government has promised to find those responsible. |
| But there is a huge level of mistrust in Lebanon, where an anti-government protest movement erupted last October, fuelled by an economic crisis and a collapsing currency. | But there is a huge level of mistrust in Lebanon, where an anti-government protest movement erupted last October, fuelled by an economic crisis and a collapsing currency. |
| Two ministers who attempted to visit badly damaged neighbourhoods in recent days were chased out. | Two ministers who attempted to visit badly damaged neighbourhoods in recent days were chased out. |
| "After three days of cleaning, removing rubble and licking our wounds... it is time to let our anger explode and punish them," Fares Halabi, a 28-year-old activist, told the AFP news agency ahead of Saturday's protests. | "After three days of cleaning, removing rubble and licking our wounds... it is time to let our anger explode and punish them," Fares Halabi, a 28-year-old activist, told the AFP news agency ahead of Saturday's protests. |
| A march will link one of the most devastated areas near the port to Martyrs' Square, the heart of the anti-government uprising that began last year. | A march will link one of the most devastated areas near the port to Martyrs' Square, the heart of the anti-government uprising that began last year. |
| Some protesters erected mock gallows in Martyrs' Square to hammer home their view of the country's political leaders | |
| Apart from showing the city's anger, the march is also meant to remember victims of the explosion, which injured 5,000 and left some 300,000 homeless. | |
| Lebanese President Michel Aoun has rejected calls for an international investigation into the explosion. He said local authorities would examine whether it was triggered by "external interference" such as a bomb. | Lebanese President Michel Aoun has rejected calls for an international investigation into the explosion. He said local authorities would examine whether it was triggered by "external interference" such as a bomb. |
| Meanwhile global leaders are scheduled to take part in a virtual donor conference on Sunday organised by French President Emmanuel Macron. | Meanwhile global leaders are scheduled to take part in a virtual donor conference on Sunday organised by French President Emmanuel Macron. |
| Mr Macron was mobbed in the streets by welcoming crowds calling for outside intervention as he visited Beirut earlier this week in the aftermath of the explosion. | |
| France, the former colonial power, has close economic ties with Lebanon, which defaulted on its sovereign debt in March but has been unable to agree a reform programme with international lenders to obtain a bailout. | France, the former colonial power, has close economic ties with Lebanon, which defaulted on its sovereign debt in March but has been unable to agree a reform programme with international lenders to obtain a bailout. |
| US President Donald Trump is among world leaders set to attend the virtual donor summit. | US President Donald Trump is among world leaders set to attend the virtual donor summit. |
| More on the explosion in Beirut | More on the explosion in Beirut |
| On Friday, UN agencies warned of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, including possible food shortages and an inability to continue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. | On Friday, UN agencies warned of a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, including possible food shortages and an inability to continue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| Many countries have already offered aid, with the US announcing on Friday that it planned to immediately send $15m (£11.5m) worth of food and medicine. | Many countries have already offered aid, with the US announcing on Friday that it planned to immediately send $15m (£11.5m) worth of food and medicine. |
| The UK has released £5m of emergency aid and deployed a Royal Navy ship to Lebanon. | The UK has released £5m of emergency aid and deployed a Royal Navy ship to Lebanon. |
| Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to President Aoun on Saturday and conveyed the UK's "deepest sympathies to the Lebanese people", Downing Street said. | Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to President Aoun on Saturday and conveyed the UK's "deepest sympathies to the Lebanese people", Downing Street said. |
| What more do we know of the victims? | |
| The Syrian embassy says 43 Syrians were among those killed as a result of the blast. Reports suggest some were port workers. | |
| Lebanon hosts more than a million Syrians following an influx of migrants sparked by the long conflict in Syria. | |
| Another casualty was the wife of the Netherlands ambassador. Hedwig Waltmans-Molier died from injuries sustained in the blast, the Netherlands foreign ministry said. | |
| The Lebanese authorities say 60 people are still missing but hopes are fading of finding anyone still alive in the rubble. | |
| What is happening with the investigation? | What is happening with the investigation? |
| Lebanon's president and prime minister have said 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate - which is commonly employed as a fertiliser but can also be used to create an explosive - had been stored in a warehouse at the port without any safety precautions since 2014, when it was unloaded from an impounded cargo ship, the MV Rhosus. | Lebanon's president and prime minister have said 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate - which is commonly employed as a fertiliser but can also be used to create an explosive - had been stored in a warehouse at the port without any safety precautions since 2014, when it was unloaded from an impounded cargo ship, the MV Rhosus. |
| The decision to keep so much explosive material in a warehouse near the city centre has been met with disbelief by many Lebanese. | The decision to keep so much explosive material in a warehouse near the city centre has been met with disbelief by many Lebanese. |
| On Wednesday, Mr Aoun promised a transparent investigation by Lebanese authorities and to "hold those responsible and those who were negligent accountable, and serve them the most severe punishment". | On Wednesday, Mr Aoun promised a transparent investigation by Lebanese authorities and to "hold those responsible and those who were negligent accountable, and serve them the most severe punishment". |
| However, calls for an international investigation have grown since then. | However, calls for an international investigation have grown since then. |
| The president ruled out such a move on Friday, saying: "The goal behind calls for an international investigation into the port issue is to dilute the truth." | The president ruled out such a move on Friday, saying: "The goal behind calls for an international investigation into the port issue is to dilute the truth." |
| President Aoun also said the government-backed inquiry was looking into three possibilities: negligence, accident or what he called "external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act". | President Aoun also said the government-backed inquiry was looking into three possibilities: negligence, accident or what he called "external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act". |
| Officials have said the explosion appears to have been triggered by a fire and there has been no evidence so far of the third possibility mentioned by Mr Aoun. | Officials have said the explosion appears to have been triggered by a fire and there has been no evidence so far of the third possibility mentioned by Mr Aoun. |
| Twenty-one people have been arrested - among them Badri Daher, the director-general of Lebanon's Customs Authority. | |
| The Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which supports the power-sharing government, meanwhile denied any involvement in the blast, insisting that his group did not control the port and that it had stored no weapons or ammunition there. | |
| Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared in a speech: "Not a weapons cache, not a missile factory, not a single missile, not a single rifle, not a single bomb, not a bullet, not nitrates. Nothing at all. Not now, not in the past." | |
| Have you been personally affected by this story? If you feel able to do so please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Have you been personally affected by this story? If you feel able to do so please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
| Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. |
| Or use the form below: | Or use the form below: |