First anniversary: Thousands of Lebanese gather to demand justice into Beirut blast

While a memorial service took place near the port, thousands of protesters gathered in the city's centre to demand accountability over the blast.

Shortly after 6pm on August 4, 2020, a stock of ammonium nitrate fertiliser haphazardly stored at the city's port exploded and left swathes of the Lebanese capital looking like a war zone. What went down as one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history killed at least 214 people, levelled entire neighbourhoods and irreparably scarred the nation's psyche as well deepening the country's economic abyss. 

As a memorial service got under way at the port, water cannon and tear gas were fired at protesters who had been throwing stones towards security forces near parliament, live TV footage showed. Demonstrators, angry over a lack of justice for the blast's victims and a severe deterioration in living conditions, had been throwing stones at the building, with some trying to climb its gate.

Six people were wounded, a security source said. The Red Cross said that more than 40 people had been injured, and more than 10 people were transferred to hospital, FRANCE 24's Sally Farhat reported.

Earlier, the Red Cross said it had dispatched 16 ambulances and 80 paramedics in response to demonstrations in the city centre.

A few hundred metres away from the memorial service at the port, thousands gathered to mark the first anniversary of the explosion.

Survivors and relatives of blast victims carried flags as well as portraits of the dead, as prayers and mournful tunes rang out amid a mix of grief and anger.

Thousands of Lebanese gathered in Beirut to mark the first anniversary of the catastrophic explosion, holding pictures of the dead and demanding justice.

There were no reports of violence there.

The country's already reviled political class has hidden behind its proclaimed immunity to avoid prosecution, stalling a lead investigating judge's work at every turn. Initial shock at the disaster has evolved into anger that has only grown as the crime stays unpunished.

One year on, no senior official has been held to account. A local investigation has yet to yield major arrests or even identify a culprit, with political leaders widely accused of obstructing justice.

SOURCE: AFP/REUTERS