Lebanon officials knew about the danger of storing chemicals in the port of Beirut, but nothing was taken to prevent an explosion on August 4, 2020. This is reported by the report Human Rights Watch.
The report contains 700 pages of analyzing official documents, as well as deciphering an interview with senior officials of Lebanon, including the President, the Prime Minister and the Head of State Security of the country. Human rights defenders found out that since 2014, when the cargo with ammonium Selitra arrived at the Beirut port, various authorities received warnings about the possibility of an explosion. “Some government officials predicted death to which the presence of ammonium nitrate in the port can lead to,” reported in the report of the International Organization.
Human Rights Watch accused Lebanese officials in criminal negligence. The organization called on UN Human Rights Council to announce the official international explosion investigation. Foreign governments, according to human rights defenders, should introduce sanctions against officials Lebanon due to violations in the field of human rights and corruption.
An explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020 occurred due to a fire. As a result of the fire, the 2750 tons of ammonium Selitra kept stored for about six years in a warehouse. About 190 people died, more than six thousand people were injured, thousands of residential buildings were destroyed. A few days after the incident, which held the position of Prime Minister Hassan Dab resigned.
Immediately after the explosion of the Security Service, Lebanon declared numerous warnings directed by the government. In particular, the staff of the powerful departments stated that the investigation into the reasons for being in the port of explosive substances and gave to understand officials about their explosiveness. However, the substances were under the flag of one of the countries of Africa, which made it difficult for the investigative process.