BEIRUT: Families of victims of the Beirut port explosion gathered on Tuesday demanding answers and accountability on the sixth anniversary of the catastrophe, in a country long plagued by official impunity.
“Until now, we haven’t gotten justice. There has been no accountability and nobody has been arrested,” said Hiyam Al-Bikai from a gathering at the port to commemorate victims of the disaster, including her son Ahmad.
“This is an extremely painful anniversary. Our pain has not stopped and our wound has not healed,” she told AFP.
The massive explosion on August 4, 2020 killed more than 220 people, injured more than 6,500 and laid waste to swathes of the capital.
Lebanese authorities have said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been stored haphazardly for years, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.
