This August 4, 2020 file photo, is the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon. Over 220 were killed , 7000 were Injured , and 300, 000 became displaced after what remained of the 2,750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate that were stored there for years exploded . President Michel Aoun who knew all along about it was officially notified 2 weeks before the explosion but did nothing about it . Judge Fadi Sawan who was initially in charge of the investigation was fired for charging Hezbollah backed Lebanese government officials with negligence over the explosion . Judge Tarek Bitar replaced Judge Sawan and Hezbollah has been for years trying to get him fired too , reportedly because it is concerned about exposing its role in supplying the Syrian government with the explosive chemical for use in its barrel bombs against civilians . FBI estimated that about 500 tons were still there and exploded . According to FBI if all the amount (2750 tons ) was still there Beirut would have been wiped off the map
A Lebanese prosecutor on Tuesday requested that former president Michel Aoun , Hezbollah top Christian ally be indicted over the August 2020 Beirut port blast that killed more than 220 people, a judicial official told AFP.
The prosecutor at Lebanon’s Court of Cassation asked the judge overseeing the case, Tarek Bitar, to “press charges against (former) president Aoun,” said the official, requesting anonymity.
The official added that charges were being sought against Aoun because he “had prior knowledge of the presence of ammonium nitrate at the port and its danger, without taking the necessary measures” or referring it to the country’s Higher Defense Council.
The massive explosion on August 4, 2020 killed more than 220 people, injured more than 7000, left 300,000 homeless and laid waste to swathes of the capital. Lebanese authorities have said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored haphazardly for nearly 7 years, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.
Nobody has been tried for the blast despite public anger and families of the blast victims demanding justice in a country long plagued by official impunity.
In March, a judicial official told AFP that judge Bitar had completed his probe. He referred the case to the public prosecutor who was to study it, and prosecutor Mohammad Saab submitted his review on Tuesday, the official said. The review specified the responsibility of more than 70 defendants, including current and former politicians, security and military officials, and civil servants, some of whom were previously charged by Bitar.
The charges remain up to Bitar, who could issue them in the coming weeks. The case had been bogged down by political and legal wrangling since 2023, after Iran-backed Hezbollah led a campaign demanding Bitar’s removal and dozens of lawsuits also sought to remove him from the case. However, Bitar resumed his investigations last year as Lebanon’s balance of power shifted. President Joseph Aoun ( not related to Michel Aoun) and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took office following a 2023-2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which weakened the Lebanese armed group.
Since then, several legal impediments to Bitar’s work have also been removed, including the lifting of a travel ban against him.
Lokman Slim who was a prominent Lebanese researcher and secular activist was reportedly assassinated by Hezbollah for exposing its role in supplying its ally the former Syrian dictator Basher al Assad with the the explosive chemical for use in its barrel bombs against civilians . Nearly half a million were killed during the Syrian civil war between 2011 and 2024.
Scientific studies estimate the blast energy at roughly 1.1 kilotons of TNT, making it the most powerful non-nuclear explosion of the 21st century. It was roughly one-tenth the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb and far stronger than any conventional military weapon
Ashraq Al Awsat /YL
