Beirut is witnessing a mass demonstration on Wednesday evening on the first anniversary of the port explosion, which left more than 200 dead and 6,500 injured.
What is remarkable about this manifestation, that it demands to know the truth about cause of this explosion and to hold those responsible, is the absence of party flags among the demonstrators.
There were skirmishes and a stampede between demonstrators and the army in the vicinity of the port of Beirut. It was also reported that the sound of a shooting was heard in Beirut.
And the Lebanese Red Cross has announced that six injured have so far been transferred from the center of the capital, which is witnessing the demonstrations, to hospitals, while 15 injured have been treated on the spot.
Lebanese banks, businesses and government offices were closed today, Wednesday, as Lebanon celebrated the first anniversary of the horrific explosion in the port of Beirut.
The sad anniversary comes in the midst of an unprecedented economic and financial meltdown and political stalemate that has kept the country without a functioning government for a year.
The explosion, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, was the result of the ignition of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate after a fire broke out in its area storage.
Documents showed that highly combustible nitrates were indiscriminately stored in the port in 2014 and that many high-ranking officials over the years knew of its existence and did nothing.
A year later, there has been no accountability and investigations have yet to answer questions like who ordered the chemicals to be shipped and why officials ignored repeated internal warnings about their danger.
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