Six dead and dozens injured in armed clashes in Beirut: what happened? – LCI

The scene rekindled the specter of civil war for the inhabitants of Beirut: armed men clashed Thursday, October 14 in the streets of the capital, after gunfire during a demonstration that left six dead and 32 wounded, according to authorities. Supporters of the Shiite movements Herzbollah and Amal had gathered near the courthouse to demand the replacement of Judge Tareq Bitar, in charge of the investigation into the explosion at the port of Beirut last year and which plans in particular to question senior officials accused in the case, including two former ministers of Amal.

Snipers, whose identity is not yet known, attacked groups of demonstrators, as a result of which numerous armed men, some masked and many wearing Amal and Hezbollah armbands, rushed to the scene and began to shoot back. Army tanks have invaded the district of Tayouné and sealed off the area, which has become a real theater of war.

Terrorized, the inhabitants holed up in their homes for several hours, parents rushed to pick up their children from school, before calm returned at the end of the afternoon. Images sadly echoed with those of the civil war, which broke out in 1975 not far from there and during which shooters terrorized the inhabitants on a daily basis.

In a speech, President Michel Aoun, a Christian ally of Hezbollah, ruled “unacceptable to return to the language of arms because we have all agreed to turn this dark page in our history”. The government declared a day of national mourning on Friday.

A scene of chaos that occurred in an electric political context, after the explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, which left more than 200 dead, 6,500 injured and blown part of the capital. Target of strong pressure, Judge Tareq Bitar still wants to prosecute several officials as part of his investigation. Authorities admitted that they had allowed the careless storage for years of the huge quantities of ammonium nitrate, which caused the explosion. The Court of Cassation had just this Thursday rejected complaints from deputies and former ministers, including those of Hezbollah and its allies, against the judge, allowing him to resume his investigations.

In addition to these political tensions, there was an unprecedented economic crisis, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in the history of the world since 1850, which forced the country to ration electricity for lack of funds to import fuel. In addition, the local currency keeps falling and foreign currency is lacking, causing prices to soar. According to the UN, three out of four Lebanese now live below the poverty line.

In this context, the violent clashes that took place this Thursday worried many countries internationally, including France, which called for “appeasement” considering that “the Lebanese are waiting for all the light to be shed on the explosion in the port” and that’“they have a right to the truth”.

The United States, for its part, also urged the country to “de-escalation” and to preserve “the independence of justice in Lebanon”, an appeal joined by the UN envoy to Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka.