On Friday (September 18, 2020), the United States accused the Lebanese Hezbollah of establishing several “caches for storing ammonium nitrate” in various European countries, suggesting that Washington established a link between the Lebanese Shiite organization and the port explosion. from Beirut resulting from the storage of this material.
US State Department counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales said: “Since 2012, Hezbollah has established caches for storing ammonium nitrate throughout Europe, transporting first aid bags containing cooled bags of this substance.”
“This type of cache storage has been found in a number of countries, including the UK, Greece, France, Italy and others,” Sells said at a press conference Thursday, and Agence France-Presse obtained a copy of his minutes. on Friday. He also spoke about the transport of this substance through Belgium, Spain and Switzerland. Sales confirmed that some of these stored materials had been “destroyed”.
“We have reason to believe that these activities are still continuing,” the US counterterrorism coordinator said, adding that Washington suspects similar storage caches existed until at least 2018, “most likely in Greece, Italy and Spain.” He continued: “As we all witnessed in the Beirut port explosion, ammonium nitrate is a very dangerous substance.”
And on whether the United States is establishing a link between the explosion and Hezbollah, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization, Sales did not give a direct answer, but did not rule out this hypothesis, saying: “This is what we know: we know that Hezbollah has stored huge amounts of ammonium nitrate. In Europe … we also know from what we witnessed in Beirut the great destructive power of ammonium nitrate, which is capable of causing massive damage if used as an explosive.
Sales of the United States called for “a full, open, transparent and in-depth investigation into the Beirut explosion, which we hope will see its results quickly.”
The Beirut port explosion on August 4 killed 191 people and destroyed parts of the capital. The Lebanese authorities confirmed that the massive explosion was caused by a shipment of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in one of the port’s pavilions for more than six years “without preventive measures”, after it was confiscated while being transported by a cargo ship carrying it. He was leaving Georgia for Mozambique.
AA / AH (AFP)
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
2005: Hariri is assassinated and Hezbollah enters the government
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005 when a massive bomb exploded as his caravan passed through Beirut, killing another 21 people. This was followed by a series of massive demonstrations and international pressure that forced Syria to withdraw its forces from Lebanon. Damascus’s Shiite allies in Lebanon organized a series of demonstrations in support of Syria. And Hezbollah gained representation in the Lebanese government for the first time.
-
The Hariri assassination: a case that changed Lebanon in the last 15 years
2006: Hezbollah provokes war with Israel
In July 2006, Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed others, sparking a five-week war in which at least 1,200 people died in Lebanon and 158 Israelis. Tensions rose over Hezbollah’s powerful arsenal after the war. And in November, Hezbollah and its allies withdrew from the Western-backed government led by Fouad Siniora.
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
2007: Siniora’s government is under pressure
Hezbollah and its allies continued a sit-in against the Siniora government that lasted for about a year. Their stated demands were to have the right to veto government decisions. In May 2007, clashes began between the Lebanese army and Sunni militants affiliated with Fatah al-Islam inside the Palestinian Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon, forcing thousands of Palestinian refugees to flee from it. Lebanese forces took full control of the camp in September.
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
2011: the fall of the Saad Hariri government
Saad Hariri’s first government was toppled in January 2011, after Hezbollah and its allies withdrew due to a dispute over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The court subsequently indicted four Hezbollah leaders in connection with the murder of Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah denied any role in the Hariri assassination. (The photo here is of Hassan Nasrallah and Saad Hariri, dating from 2009).
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
2012: Hezbollah steps in to support Bashar al-Assad
Hezbollah fighters were deployed inside Syria, secretly at first, to support Syrian government forces in the face of a peaceful uprising against President Bashar al-Assad in mid-March 2011. The party has played an important role since 2012 in the repression of this uprising, which has been in force for more than nine years.
-
The Hariri assassination: a case that changed Lebanon in the last 15 years
2015: “You suck”
A garbage crisis erupted when authorities closed the main landfill near Beirut without offering an alternative, prompting people to come out in massive protests in August 2015 after hills of garbage piled up on the streets with the motto “You stink”. This crisis seemed to be a clear sign of the inability of the sectarian quota system to meet basic needs such as electricity and water.
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
2017: Saad Hariri is in the hands of Saudi Arabia
In November 2017, Saad Hariri’s relationship with Saudi Arabia drastically deteriorated, angered by Hezbollah’s growing influence in Lebanon. It was later widely reported that Riyadh forced Hariri to resign and retained him within the kingdom. Saudi Arabia and Hariri denied that this happened, but French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Hariri’s arrest in Saudi Arabia.
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
2019: Protests push Hariri to resign
With stagnant economic growth and decreasing capital flows; The government has faced pressure to curb the huge budget deficit. Thousands of people protested, accusing leaders of corruption and mismanagement of the economy after they failed to overcome the economic crisis. On October 18, the government retracted some of its proposals to resolve the crisis, but the protests continued. On October 29, Hariri resigned, despite opposition from Hezbollah.
-
The Hariri assassination: a case that changed Lebanon in the last 15 years
2019/2020: Protests continue and the Diab government is formed
The resignation of Saad Hariri and the formation of a new government by Hassan Diab, who is supported by Hezbollah, did not calm the anger of the Lebanese street. Popular protests continued in the current year and protesters continued organizing demonstrations to reject corruption and demand the departure of the entire political class. In addition, living conditions and high prices in Lebanon exacerbated the crisis, so the Lebanese continued to take to the streets and remember their demands.
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
Beirut port explosion shakes Diab government
After the terrible explosion that shook Beirut and aggravated the economic crisis in the country; The anger of the Lebanese has erupted against families and ruling elites accused of corruption and against the government of Hassan Diab, which was forced to resign under pressure from protests on August 10, 2020. In a speech to the Lebanese from the government palace, Diab said that what he described as “the system of corruption is greater than the state and us.” We cannot get rid of it, and one of the examples of corruption is the explosion in Beirut. “
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
Sentence in the Hariri murder case
After fifteen years during which the Lebanese waited for the truth of the issue that changed the face of Lebanon and led to the departure of Syrian forces from it after 30 years of security and political tutelage, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced (18 of August 2020) that there is no evidence of the involvement of the Syrian regime or the Hezbollah leadership. Directly on the Hariri murder. However, the sentence indicated at the same time that a member of Hezbollah was involved in the murder.
-
The Hariri Assassination: A Case That Changed Lebanon In The Last 15 Years
Lebanon is at a crossroads
The ruling comes at a time when new divisions are emerging over demands for an international investigation and political responsibility for the port explosion, which resulted from the unsafe storage of large amounts of ammonium nitrate. The ruling in the Hariri case may complicate the already volatile situation following the port explosion and the resignation of the government supported by Hezbollah and its allies. In the opinion of the Lebanese, including the victims who have been awaiting justice for 15 years, the verdict “is not enough.” Prepared by: Iman Molouk
Author: Iman Molouk
