six dead in demonstration against the investigation into the explosion at the port of Beirut

A demonstration organized by Hezbollah and its allies against the judge in charge of the investigation into the explosion at the port of Beirut escalated Thursday, leaving six dead and 30 wounded turning neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital into a war zone. Heavy gunfire and explosions echoed not far from the courthouse, in front of which had gathered hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black, while AFP correspondents saw men carrying small and medium weapons.

“France expresses its deep concern in view of the recent obstacles to the proper conduct of the investigation into the explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the violence that occurred in this context. It calls on everyone to appease “, quickly declared the spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Refugees inhabitants, deployed tanks

Ambulances, howling sirens, flocked to evacuate the victims in the deserted streets, the inhabitants having taken refuge in their apartments and reliving scenes of war that they thought had been forgotten. On social media, images showed schoolchildren from an area establishment hiding under their desks or gathered on the floor in front of classrooms.

Army tanks were deployed in the neighborhood, sealing off access, and the troops warned that they would shoot point blank at anyone who opened fire. Hezbollah and the Amal movement had called for the demonstration to demand the replacement of Judge Tareq Bitar, who is determined to question senior officials including two former Amal ministers.

In a joint statement, the two Shiite movements accused “snipers posted on the roofs of buildings” in the area of ​​having fired on the demonstrators. However, the sequence of events that led to the conflagration remains unclear. Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi reported six deaths. Among the victims were a man who was shot in the head, a second shot in the chest and a 24-year-old woman was killed by a stray bullet while at home, according to medical sources.

A call to “preserve civil peace”

According to the Lebanese Red Cross, 30 people were injured. The minister launched an appeal to “preserve civil peace”, stressing that “snipers” were at the origin of the shots since victims were hit in the head according to him. Prime Minister Nagib Mikati called for a return to calm and warned against attempts to drag Lebanon into a cycle of violence.

The demonstration took place at the same place where the relatives of the victims of the explosion regularly gather to demand that the investigation be concluded. The demonstrators burned portraits of Judge Bitar but also of the American ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, in an allusion to the collusion according to them between the magistrates and the West.

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Thursday, killing six and wounding 30, turning neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital into a war zone.

Heavy gunfire and explosions echoed not far from the courthouse, in front of which had gathered hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black, while AFP correspondents saw men carrying small and medium weapons.

Ambulances, howling sirens, flocked to evacuate the victims in the deserted streets, the inhabitants having taken refuge in their apartments and reliving scenes of war that they thought had been forgotten.

On social media, images showed schoolchildren from an area establishment hiding under their desks or gathered on the floor in front of classrooms.

“I hid with my cousin and my aunt in a two square meter space between the rooms, because we are afraid of stray bullets,” Bissan al Fakih, a resident of the area, told AFP. “We don’t know if there is a way out” of the neighborhood.

Army tanks were deployed in the neighborhood, sealing off access, and the troops warned that they would shoot point blank at anyone who opened fire.

Hezbollah and the Amal movement had called for the demonstration to demand the replacement of Judge Tareq Bitar, who is determined to question senior officials including two former Amal ministers.

In a joint statement, the two Shiite movements accused “snipers posted on the roofs of buildings” in the area of ​​having fired on the demonstrators. However, the sequence of events that led to the conflagration remains unclear.

Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi reported six deaths. Among the victims were a man who was shot in the head, a second shot in the chest and a 24-year-old woman was killed by a stray bullet while at home, according to medical sources.

According to the Lebanese Red Cross, 30 people were injured.

The minister launched an appeal to “preserve civil peace”, stressing that “snipers” were at the origin of the shots since victims were hit in the head according to him.

Prime Minister Nagib Mikati called for a return to calm and warned against attempts to drag Lebanon into a cycle of violence.