In front of the port of Beirut, marchers blame 'criminal' leaders and pay tribute to the victims

At around 4 p.m. on Sunday, hundreds of people began to gather in downtown Beirut, near Martyrs’ Square and the Karatina fire station, to commemorate the four years since the explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4, 2020. On the placards held up by demonstrators already at the scene were calls for justice for “Beirut and Lebanon.”

“It is Hezbollah that is responsible. It is obstructing the course of justice,” denounces Nada, who lost her nephew.

Caused by the ignition of large quantities of improperly stored ammonium nitrate, the explosion killed at least 235 people, injured a further 6,500 and devastated entire districts of the Lebanese capital. Ammonium nitrate is a combustible chemical compound commonly used in agriculture as a fertilizer, but can also contribute to the manufacture of explosives.