Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is urging the judiciary to issue a long-awaited indictment over the 2020 Beirut port blast, as the country marks six years since the catastrophe which killed over 200 people.
Issued on: 04/08/2026 - 07:46
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"The issuing of the indictment by the investigating judge has become a necessity that can no longer be delayed," Aoun said in a statement on Monday. The massive Beirut port explosion on 4 August, 2020, killed more than 220 people, injured more that 6,500 and damaged swathes of the capital. Lebanese authorities have said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.
A map showing the scale of Beirut's port explosion that was felt across the region. © RFI/Graphics department
