Lebanon Police And Protesters Clash On Blast Anniversary

Lebanese police on Wednesday scuffled with angry protesters demanding accountability for last year's Beirut port explosion, a short distance from the main event marking the tragedy's first anniversary

Beirut, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Aug, 2021 ) :Lebanese police on Wednesday scuffled with angry protesters demanding accountability for last year's Beirut port explosion, a short distance from the main event marking the tragedy's first anniversary.

The scuffles near parliament in central Beirut broke out between riot police and stone-lobbing protesters, who tried to storm the main building.

Riot police responded by firing tear gas and beating demonstrators with batons.

The Red Cross said it transported six people to hospital, and had treated dozens more on-site.

Earlier, it said it had dispatched 16 ambulances and 80 paramedics in response to demonstrations in the city centre.

Nearby, a few hundred of metres (yards) away at the port, thousands gathered to mark the first anniversary of the explosion which killed at least 214 people.

Survivors and relatives of blast victims carried flags and portraits of the dead, as prayers and mournful tunes rang out amid a mix of grief and anger.

There were no reports of violence there.

Shortly after 6:00 pm on August 4, 2020, a stock of ammonium nitrate fertiliser haphazardly stored at the city's port exploded and left swathes of the Lebanese capital looking like a war zone.

One year on, no senior official has been held to account. A local investigation has yet to yield major arrests or even identify a culprit, with political leaders widely accused of obstructing justice.