Al-Jazeera correspondent said that the Lebanese judiciary has arrested a high-ranking customs official in connection with the investigations into the Beirut port explosion. While the United Nations announced that it had not received any request to investigate the explosion, after calls for the file to be internationalized, Interpol said it had sent a team of experts to identify the victims.
After his suspension yesterday, Director General of Customs Badri Daher joined 19 other people, including current and former general directors, who were arrested pending investigation into the circumstances of the explosion, which left 154 dead, about 6 thousand wounded, and hundreds of missing and homeless.
And Lebanese media published a document attributed to the Special Investigation Commission at the Banque du Liban, which decided to freeze the bank accounts of current and former officials at the port and the customs administration.
Last Tuesday, the Lebanese capital spent a tragic day as a result of a huge explosion in a warehouse in the port of Beirut, which contained ammonium nitrate, in addition to flammable materials, and cables (fuse) for slow detonation, according to a statement by the Public Prosecution.
In his latest remarks yesterday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that the explosion was the result of negligence or external interference by a missile or bomb.
He added that he had asked French President Emmanuel Macron to provide his country with aerial photos if they were available in Paris, with the aim of determining whether there were aircraft in the airspace or missiles, noting that he would not allow the issue to be internationalized.
Despite the French President’s call - in his Thursday visit to Beirut - for an international investigation to uncover the circumstances of the mysterious explosion, the United Nations said yesterday that it had not received any request for an investigation.
"We will be ready to consider such a request if we receive it. However, we have not received anything like this," UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, can open an investigation if a UN legislative body - such as the 193-member General Assembly or the 15-member UN Council - approves it.
In the context, the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, demanded that the Lebanese army undertake the investigation into the explosion, and said that "if the Lebanese army is trusted by all the Lebanese and political forces, then let him undertake the investigation into the incident."
Regarding the accusations against Hezbollah, Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast live on television stations, "I announce today a categorical, absolute and decisive denial ... that there is nothing for us in the port, there is no weapon store or a missile store or a rifle or a bomb or a bullet or nitrate (ammonium). ) Absolutely".
He said that many media outlets rushed before any investigations to say that the store that exploded belonged to Hezbollah, indicating that the foreign media had abandoned the accusation of Hezbollah despite its hostility to it, unlike Arab media that remained attached to that accusation.
He added that his party has more information about Haifa Port than it does about Beirut Port, its contents and its facilities, because "our role is only resistance."
Despite official voices rejecting the internationalization of the investigation, Interpol announced yesterday that it sent a team of international experts specialized in identifying victims to the site of the big explosion that shook Beirut, at the request of the Lebanese authorities.
According to a statement by Interpol, which is based in Lyon, France, its Secretary General, Juergen Stock, said, "Interpol's expertise can provide valuable assistance to the country's authorities, and we will continue to provide any necessary support to Lebanon."
INTERPOL's "accident response teams" are deployed at the request of member states, when natural disasters, accidents or attacks occur.
International endeavors
As part of the international efforts to help Lebanon, the Lebanese president said yesterday that his US counterpart, Donald Trump, will participate in the Paris conference in support of Beirut, which the French president had announced with the United States, the World Bank and the European Union, in the coming days.
For his part, the White House said that the American and French presidents yesterday discussed working together with other countries to send immediate aid to Lebanon.
White House spokesman Gad Deer said - in a statement - that the two leaders spoke by phone and "expressed their deep sadness over the loss of life and destruction in Beirut."
In turn, the United Nations announced an additional $ 6 million financing to deal with the disaster from its Central Emergency Response Fund, in addition to the $ 9 million it has already authorized to use from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund.
The World Health Organization also transported supplies from Dubai to Lebanon to treat those who suffered burns and injuries from flying glass and debris.
The UN World Food Program said it plans to import wheat flour and cereal flour intended for bakeries and mills, to help prevent food shortages.
For its part, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that about 100,000 children have become homeless, noting that the explosion destroyed schools that housed 55,000 students, and destroyed a vital newborn care facility.