Lebanese President Aoun: Circumstances of Beirut Explosion Will Be Exposed, Negligent Will Be Held Accountable

By Staff

“No words can describe the horror of the disaster that has hit Beirut last night, turning it to a disaster-stricken city.”

These were the first words of Lebanese President Michel Aoun during the opening remarks at the Council of Ministers’ session on August 5, 2020 in Baabda Palace following the explosion in Beirut Port that injured and displaced thousands as dozens went missing and a great sum martyred.

President Aoun further offered his deepest condolence to the Lebanese saying, “It is time to grieve for our martyrs, wounded and missing. There is no doubt that shock is tremendous among all the Lebanese to whom I appeal today to show solidarity and mutual assistance in order for us to overcome, together, the catastrophic effects that go way beyond Lebanon’s endurance during the harsh economic and health circumstances under which it succumbs”.

The Lebanese President assured both, the parents of the martyrs and injured first, then to all the Lebanese, that the trauma will not prevent the government from determining “to move on with the investigations and expose the circumstances of what happened as soon as possible, to hold the responsible and the negligent accountable, and to sanction them with the most severe punishment. We shall transparently unveil the outcome of the probe that shall be undertaken by the investigation committee and whose results shall be submitted to the competent judiciary”.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Aoun commended “the zeal of the Lebanese who rushed onto the blast location and perimeter and the hospitals to offer support and assistance, thus presenting a bright image of the spirit of Nationalism and Good that drives them”.

He also paid tribute to the security organs, the medical and paramedical personnel, the Red Cross, the Civil Defense, and the Fire Department for “their work and for mobilizing all their potentials, personnel and capacities to provide first-aid, transfer the injured to hospitals and ensure accommodation to families whose houses have been damaged”.

The Lebanese President called on the Higher Relief Commission “to intensify its action in view of conducting a comprehensive survey for damages and providing the necessary indemnities”. 

Aoun concluded his remarks by thanking all the officials in brotherly and friendly states for “stating that they support Lebanon, stand by its people in their ordeal, and wish to offer help”.

He appealed to them “to speed up their assistance in order to support our hospitals and bereaved families, and restore the devastation incurred by buildings and by the Beirut Port, especially that Lebanon is going through an unprecedented economic crisis”.