Lebanon protestors storm Ministry of Justice HQ

Dozens of protestors on Friday stormed the headquarters of the Lebanese Ministry of Justice in the capital to demand the completion of the investigation into the Port of Beirut explosion.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported: “Members of the riot squad were brought in to remove the people from the ground floor of the ministry building.”

It added that those who stormed the building: “Tried to reach the fifth floor, where the office of Minister of Justice in the caretaker government, Henry Khoury, is located. He was not in his office.”

According to the Anadolu Agency correspondent, the protestors demanded that the investigations suspended since December 2021 be completed while staying away from “political rivalries”.

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It is worth noting that, in the context of the investigations into the explosion, the Lebanese authorities arrested around 17 people, including port workers, administrators, officials and security officers. However, no charges were brought against them.

The explosion, on 4 August, 2020, killed more than 200 people, injured about 6,500 others and damaged around 50,000 housing units. Material losses were estimated at nearly $15 billion.

Lebanon is one long tale of disaster and crisis – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]