Four years and no justice: Lebanon marks port blast anniversary

No one has been held responsible for August 4, 2020 blast – one of history’s biggest non-nuclear explosions – which killed more than 220

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Relatives of victims who were killed in the 2020 Beirut port explosion stand on the ladder of a firetruck waving a giant Lebanese flag as others march with portraits of loved ones during the fourth anniversary of the explosion, in Beirut, Lebanon on Sunday. Photo: AP

Published: 3:22am, 5 Aug 2024

Hundreds gathered near Beirut’s port on Sunday to mark four years since a catastrophic explosion devastated the capital and to demand accountability, with the spectre of war weighing over commemorations.

No one has been held responsible for the August 4, 2020 blast – one of history’s biggest non-nuclear explosions – which killed more than 220 people, injured at least 6,500 and devastated swathes of Lebanon’s capital.

Demonstrators, some holding images of those killed, demanded justice and accountability at the march headed by victims’ relatives, who have grouped together in their fight.

Photos of people killed in a blast at the port of Beirut in 2020, during a march marking the fourth anniversary of the explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

“Four years have passed and the criminals have not been arrested,” said Viviane Haddad, who was injured in the blast.

“Where is the justice?” she asked.

Housewife Sonia Audeh, 53, said: “We want to know who caused the explosion … who took our children, our young people.”

At 6:07pm local time, the time of the explosion, demonstrators held a moment of silence while ambulances and boats sounded their sirens.