THE ESSENTIAL
Strong blasts, a wall of smoke and a city plunged into chaos: Beirut, the Lebanese capital, was rocked by two powerful explosions in the port district on Tuesday afternoon. At the beginning of the evening, the results of these explosions were still provisional, with at least 27 dead and 2,500 injured, according to the Lebanese government. A national mourning was decreed on Wednesday and a whole country wonders about the origin of these deadly explosions. Follow the latest news live.
The main information to remember:
- Two explosions in Beirut left at least 27 dead and 2,500 injured
- The circumstances of these explosions are still unclear
- National mourning was declared Wednesday in Lebanon
- France will bring relief to the country, announces Macron
What happened in Beirut on Tuesday afternoon?
Two successive powerful explosions shook Beirut in the middle of the afternoon in the port district. Videos posted on social networks showed an initial explosion followed by another causing the gigantic cloud of smoke.
The port sector has been cordoned off by the security forces, which only allow civil defense, ambulances with howling sirens and firefighters, according to AFP correspondents at the entrance to the port. More than two hours after the explosion, flames still enveloped the area and a boat was still on fire in the country. A helicopter is collecting water from the sea to put out the fires, an AFP correspondent noted.
Already a very heavy human and material toll
These powerful explosions left 27 dead and 2,500 injured, according to "preliminary estimates" announced by the Minister of Health, Hamad Hassan. "It's a disaster in every sense of the word", he lamented, questioned by several televisions while visiting a hospital in the capital. "The hospitals in the capital are all full of wounded," he said, calling for the other wounded to be transported to establishments in the suburbs.
On the outskirts of the port district, material damage and destruction is significant. The blasts rocked buildings and smashed windows for miles around. According to witnesses, the blasts were heard as far as the coastal town of Larnaca, in Cyprus, a little over 200 km from the Lebanese coast.
"Confiscated explosives" involved?
The circumstances of these explosions remain unclear for the moment. In an initial reaction from an official, the director general of the General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, indicated that the explosions were possibly due to "explosives confiscated for years", but added that the ongoing investigation should determine "the exact nature of the incident".
Search for culprits and national mourning
The thesis of the involuntary accident is not the one favored by the local authorities. Early in the evening, Prime Minister Hassane Diab said those responsible for this "disaster" should "be held to account", at the same time calling on "friendly countries" to help Lebanon. President Michel Aoun has called an "urgent meeting" of the Superior Council of Defense and Prime Minister Hassan Diab has declared a day of national mourning.
France provides support
After the explosions, Emmanuel Macron expressed his "fraternal solidarity with the Lebanese". The Head of State indicated that France was going to help the country humanely and materially: "French aid and resources are being delivered to the spot," he tweeted. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday evening that France was on "Lebanon's side".
A country already weakened
These explosions come in an already difficult context for Lebanon. The country is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades, marked by unprecedented monetary depreciation, hyperinflation, massive layoffs and drastic banking restrictions, which have fueled social discord for several months.
On the judicial front, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), based in the Netherlands, is due to deliver its verdict on Friday in the trial of four men, all suspected members of the powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah. They are accused of having participated in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.