Advertisement

Lebanese vent rage against leaders after blast

After the explosion, the fury.

Lebanese riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators trying to break through a barrier to get to the parliament building in Beirut on Saturday (August 8).

The protest was over the government's handling of this week's devastating explosion in the city.

About 7,000 people gathered in Martyrs' Square in the city center, some throwing stones.

Some protesters chanted 'the people want the fall of the regime'.

The blast in the port killed at least 158 people, injured 6,000 and destroyed a swathe of the city.

Footage shot during a boat tour with the Lebanese army on Saturday revealed the scale of the devastation.

Some residents, struggling to clean up shattered homes, complain the government they see as corrupt has let them down again.

Several people said they were not surprised that French President Emmanuel Macron had visited their gutted neighborhoods near the epicenter of the blast this week while Lebanese leaders had not.

The prime minister and presidency have said 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate had been stored for six years without safety measures at the port warehouse.

President Michel Aoun said on Friday an investigation would examine whether it was caused by a bomb or other external interference.

Aoun said the investigation would also weigh if the blast was due to negligence or an accident.