The Lebanese Ministry of Interior said that the security forces seized a truck loaded with 20 tons of ammonium nitrate in the vicinity of the city of Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley (east of the country).
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said that the security forces have begun investigations to find out the details of the case, and will conduct a field survey of the area where ammonium nitrate was found.
The authorities did not announce the destination of the truck, or if those quantities were intended for use in agriculture;
As ammonium nitrate is an odorless white salt that is mainly used in nitrogen fertilizers, it can also be used in the manufacture of explosives.
A huge explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020 - which the authorities attributed to the storage of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate without preventive measures - killed at least 214 people and wounded more than 6,500 others, in addition to extensive destruction in the port and neighborhoods in the capital. .
The Lebanese authorities are still investigating the circumstances of the arrival of those quantities of ammonium nitrate that exploded in the port of Beirut, the parties responsible for storing them and the reasons for their explosion, while Lebanese and international human rights organizations, survivors and families of the victims are calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish an independent and impartial international investigation mission, amid Fears of mounting political pressure impeding the progress of the domestic investigation.