The Prime Minister of Lebanon and his cabinet will resign after the devastating and horrific explosion for Beirut which has killed around 163 people.
Resignation as tension rises
Prime Minister Hassan Diab will address Lebanon on August 11 and Hamad Hasan, his own health minister, said that Prime Minister Diab is expected to step down from his post.
There are several ministers who have already resigned after the public outrage over the blast. President Michel Aoun is also facing backlash and is contemplating to resign.
The disaster that happened last week was caused by more than 2,000 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate which were piled up in a warehouse for 6 years. The explosion killed 163 people and it destroyed swathes of Beirut, leaving thousands of locals homeless.
Many Lebanese see the incident as a symbol of the country's corruption and the government's incompetence. Protests have also broken out with tear gas fired on protesters after months of economic and political meltdown.
Diab's cabinet was formed in January 2020 and was backed by Hezbollah of Iran, met on August 10 with several ministers wanting to resign, as reported by BBC.
Lebanon is now seeking $20 billion in funding from the IMF and is now facing billions more in disaster costs, with losses from the explosion estimated to be around $15 billion. There were nine lawmakers who have announced that they would quit in protest.
President Aoun is pressured to quit and his portrait was burned by demonstrators who burst into the foreign ministry building during a protest over the weekend, as reported by Global Times.
The Beirut blast
The explosion last week is caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate which was left unsecured at the port since 2013. Around 6 days after the massive explosion which was felt all the way to Cyprus, residents, and volunteers were still clearing the debris of the streets.
International rescue teams arrived with sniffer dogs, and there was also specialized equipment that was brought to the "ground zero" to search for bodies. Rescue teams are not expecting any survivors.
According to the Lebanese army, five more bodies were pulled from the rubble with the help of French and Russian rescue teams. The death toll is now at 163, as reported by The Washington Post.
The explosion was compared to the deadly Hiroshima atom bomb 75 years ago, which killed thousands of people, left 6,000 injured, and 300,000 homeless. The incident also sparked panic over wheat shortages after 15,000 tonnes of grains were blasted out of the silos.
Lebanon's president has said that explosive materials were stored unsafely at the port for years. He said that an investigation would reveal whether the cause was external interference and negligence or just an accident.
The president said on August 7 that there are two possible scenarios for the incident, it was either foreign interference through a bomb or missile or negligence.
In 2013, the shipment of the ammonium nitrate sailed on the cargo ship Rhosus, it was officially destined for Mozambique, however, the vessel made an unscheduled stop in Beirut where the chemicals were left for 6 years.
