Lebanon: investigation into the explosion will not be successful "very quickly", says President Aoun

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Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Saturday August 15 during an interview with French channel BFM TV that the investigation into the explosion that occurred on August 4 in the port of Beirut could not be completed very quickly and that international aid will go where it is needed. Western countries are putting pressure on the Lebanese authorities for a "transparent and credible" investigation into the double explosion which, on August 4, left 172 dead, more than 6,500 injured and destroyed a large part of Beirut.

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“ Of course, we have the will to complete the investigation very quickly. But we discovered that the situation is much more complex, that is to say that the investigation will not be able to lead very quickly as one wished it , declared Michel Aoun.

Explosions in Beirut: "The investigation will not be able to lead very quickly as we wished", according to the Lebanese president on BFMTV pic.twitter.com/3Joyc6g9g6

" I asked that the aid sent by foreign countries be given exactly where it is needed, " added the Lebanese president.

Michel Aoun also indicated that within the framework of the investigation, all the hypotheses on the origin of the explosion which killed 178 people and devastated part of the Lebanese capital, remained open.

The survey is not international but it is internationalized

Western countries are putting pressure on the Lebanese authorities for a " transparent and credible " investigation into the double explosion which, on August 4, left 172 dead, more than 6,500 injured and destroyed a large part of Beirut. The American FBI joins the investigators on Sunday, who are already assisted by experts from several countries, including France, reports our correspondent in Beirut, Paul Khalifeh .

On Sunday, an American FBI team joined the investigators so that all the answers were provided to the Lebanese, according to the remarks of the American Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs, who is in Beirut.

But David Hale's opinion seems to have been done. According to State Department No. 3, this " tragedy, " as he called it, is the result of " decades of mismanagement and corruption ." He even designated the culprits, asserting that " all those responsible assume some responsibility ".

The investigation continues Monday under the direction of an investigating judge endowed with special powers, since he is at the same time the prosecutor of an exceptional criminal court, the Court of Justice, whose verdicts are without appeal. .

The investigation is not international but it is internationalized. In the sense that experts from several countries contribute to it. The French are, so far, the only ones to work with justice, while the Russians collaborate with the Lebanese army, on technical questions.  

Twenty-five people have been charged, 19 of whom are behind bars.
On Monday, the investigating judge begins the questioning of the ministers of Public Works, Finance and Justice, who have followed one another since 2014.

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• Lebanon
• Michel Aoun