The Iraqi authorities decided to set new controls for storing and transporting dangerous explosive chemicals, in fear of repeating the scenario of the Beirut explosion, which left thousands of dead and wounded and caused heavy losses in the Lebanese capital.
The head of the Border Ports Authority in Iraq, Omar Adnan Al-Waeli, said that an urgent committee had been formed to inventory the high-risk containers that contain chemicals of double use and ammonium nitrate accumulated after the approval of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi on a proposal in this regard.
Al-Waeli added that these dangerous materials will be transported to remote places allocated by the General Company for Iraqi Ports with regard to the ports and the civil aviation authority related to airports, and the land transport company with regard to land ports, indicating that the committee in charge of that will end its work and submit its report within the next 72 hours.
Armory
In a related context, Iraqi politicians and activists, through their accounts on social media, called on the Iraqi authorities to remove weapons depots from cities and residential neighborhoods.
Tariq al-Hashemi, a former Iraqi vice-president, demanded in a tweet on Twitter to avoid recurring the tragedy of Lebanon, and to inventory warehouses of explosives and weapons in Iraq, and store them away from cities.
Will we be bitten by the tragedy of # Lebanon ??? The storage of highly explosive materials is usually subject to strict controls that are usually underestimated by armed non-state factions, due to their lack of experience, so it is necessary to inventory explosives and weapons warehouses in #Iraq and put a hand on them and store them according to the controls away from cities. # Beirut_pic.twitter.com/mZiHdMKj7z
- Tariq Al Hashemi (@alhashimi_Tariq) August 4, 2020
The former Nineveh governor, Atheel al-Nujaifi, repeated the same invitation in a Tweet on Twitter, and called on the relevant authorities in Iraq to maintain the security of the country and impose state authority to avoid what happened in Lebanon.
The Beirut explosion is a great tragedy that tells you, O Iraqis: National security is not a game ... Let the region learn from the weak control of these countries on its soil.
- Atheel Alnujaifi (@AtheelAlnujaifi) August 4, 2020
Jamal Al-Dari, Secretary-General of the Arab Project in Iraq, also called in a Tweet on Twitter for the transfer of weapons and weapons stores outside the cities.
The explosion that took place at the Beirut port reminds us of the explosions of equipment stores in residential neighborhoods in #Iraq, and this incident requires the @MAKadhimi government to move “death stores” and armed faction camps and government forces from densely populated areas to protect lives and property from the “tampering” of explosions, God forbid pic. twitter.com/SYaDY0PRT7
- Jamal Al Dhari Jamal Al Dhari (@AldhariJamal) August 5, 2020
As for the media, Hazem Hammoudi, he appealed to Al-Kazemi to evacuate the cities from military headquarters and armories to avoid the catastrophe of what happened in Beirut.
# Appeal @ MAKadhimi
to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The Iraqi cities must be cleared of military headquarters and places of accumulation of weapons in order to avoid a catastrophe that may happen, God forbid, similar to what happened in the stricken Beirut. Our experiences are bitter and bad.
Hazem Hammoudi hazmhamoodi (@hazmhamoodi) August 5, 2020
The Lebanese capital spent the day yesterday, Tuesday, a bloody night due to a huge explosion in the port of Beirut, which resulted - according to unlimited official figures - that 135 people were killed and about 5 thousand wounded, in addition to dozens of missing persons under the rubble.