Who knew and what about storing ammonium nitrate and its dangers in Beirut port?
The scale of the damage caused by the port explosion was enormous. Archives
The security services and former and current officials were aware of the dangers of storing huge quantities of ammonium nitrate in the Beirut port, and even a security apparatus warned the authorities that igniting these materials could lead to a devastating explosion. Despite this, no one took action to prevent the disaster, which claimed 171 lives and injured 6,500 others.
Before blasting
On July 20, President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab received a letter from the State Security Agency about the "danger" posed by the presence of large quantities of ammonium nitrate stored in the Beirut port.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the State Security Agency confirmed that it had "informed the authorities of the danger" of these materials "according to a detailed report."
At the beginning of this year, State Security began an investigation into Ward 12, in which more than six years ago, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate were stored in a ship that stopped at Beirut port in 2013.
In a report issued after the end of the investigation, a copy of which was seen by Agence France-Presse, it was stated that "there are dangerous materials used to manufacture explosives" in the hangar, and "a liquid substance of the flammable nitroglycerine type leaches" from one of the containers inside.
A chemical expert who visited the site was quoted as saying that "these materials, if ignited, will cause a huge explosion, the consequences of which will be almost destructive to the port of Beirut."
The report warned of amber thefts as a result of a large gap in the "southern wall".
A statement by the government commissioner to the military court after the explosion said that the hangar contained "highly flammable materials and cables for slow detonation."
A security source told France Press that the amber also contained gunpowder, fireworks and paint barrels.
On July 24, the Supreme Defense Council, which includes the leaders of all the military and security services, based on a referral from the President of the Republic, drafted a letter to Minister of Public Works and Transport Michel Najjar, regarding the presence of "a large quantity of ammonium nitrate used for explosives" in the port. The letter arrived on August 3rd.
"I knew about the matter 24 hours before the explosion occurred when I received the message of the Supreme Defense Council," the resigned minister told AFP, suggesting that it had been delayed due to the closure measures due to the Covid-19 epidemic and the Eid al-Adha holiday.
After that, the minister asked his advisor to contact the head of the port’s board of directors, Hassan Quraytem, who is currently suspended, to inquire, and he asked him to send all documents related to the case to the ministry, which is what happened. But the next day, the explosion happened.
Ward No. 12 is designated for storing stranded and confiscated goods at the Beirut port.
It contained 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which arrived in Beirut in November 2013 on a ship called "Roussos" that stopped in Beirut on its way from Georgia to Mozambique.
A Lebanese company filed a claim with the judge of urgent matters against the company that owns the vessel, and it was seized by the judiciary. Other reports stated that they did not pay the stopover fee at the Beirut port, so they were booked. The big mystery remains that no one has claimed its cargo. Months later, the cargo was unloaded in hangar 12. In 2018, the ship sank off the port of Beirut.
Security investigation
Najjar said, "There have been numerous exchanges over the past seven years between the judiciary, the state security apparatus and the port administration" regarding dangerous materials.
Another security source revealed to France Press that General Security warned in a letter in 2014 about the seriousness of the cargo that the ship "Roussos" was carrying, in a letter that reached the Presidency of the Republic, the government and the Ministries of Interior and Works.
Four governments have come to power since that date.
In its letter to the authorities in July, the State Security Service spoke of “negligence and negligence in the management and investment of Beirut Port in guarding the ward,” which facilitates theft. He pointed out that "the official departments have not taken any measures to address the situation in order to eliminate the danger that these materials cause in case they were stolen or burned."
In May 2020, the State Security Agency communicated with the discriminatory Public Prosecutor, Ghassan Awaidat, who ordered that a guard be placed on the ward, maintenance of its doors, and a gap in it.
The first security source says that the port administration delayed implementation until August 4, when it is likely that a fire broke out while the hangar was being repaired, leading to the explosion.
Since the beginning of the investigation, more than twenty people, including officials and engineers, have been arrested at the port.
The Public Prosecutor, Ghassan Khoury, listened to the statement of the Director General of State Security, Major General Antoine Saliba, during a session that lasted Tuesday hours. A judicial source said that he was questioned about the delay of his apparatus in notifying the judiciary and its failure to follow up its implementation of the judicial indication of placing a guard for the ward and maintaining it.
"I am not responsible"
Immediately after the bombing, and before the bodies began to be recovered from among the rubble, and over the following days, officials at all levels tried to evade responsibility, firing accusations in a country ravaging corruption in all its institutions, including the port that was covered by media reports and numerous studies focusing on tax smuggling issues It has bribes, scandals and deals that pass through it.
The Director General of Customs, Badri Daher, was also quick to publish the contents of a letter he sent in December 2017 to the judge of urgent matters, in which he said that he would repeat his request to re-export tons of ammonium nitrate, indicating that the material could be sold to a Lebanese company after informing the army leadership that it did not need it.
On Friday, the Lebanese President acknowledged that he had received a letter from the State Security Service in July on the matter, which he referred to the Supreme Council of Defense to communicate with the concerned parties.
He told reporters, "I am not responsible, I do not know where (the quantities of nitrates) were placed or their degree of risk. I do not have the authority to deal with the port directly. There is a hierarchy whose duties must be known."
In the streets, the angry Lebanese hold all those responsible indiscriminately responsible for what happened because of their corruption and recklessness, and demand accountability.
On social media, photos of Aoun have circulated over the past few days, on which he wrote in English "he knew".