Smoke rises after an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2020, in this image obtained from a video on social media.
Karim Sokhn | Instagram | Reuters
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced on Monday that the resignation of his government following a strong explosion in the port of Beirut had caused a public uproar against the country’s leaders.
The detonation of more than 2,000 tons of ammonium nitrate on August 4 killed at least 163 people, wounding more than 6,000 and destroying swaths of the bustling Mediterranean capital, burning months of political and economic collapse.
The cabinet, formed in January with the support of the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and its allies, will meet on Monday, with many ministers seeking to resign, according to ministerial and political sources.
For many ordinary Lebanese, the explosion was the last straw in a protracted crisis over the collapse of the economy, endemic corruption, waste and dysfunctional governance, and they took to the streets to change roots and branches.
The Ministers of Information and Environment close on Sunday, as do several legislators, and the Minister of Justice followed them out the door on Monday.
Protests against the government over the past two days have been the largest since October, when angry demonstrations spread over an economic crisis rooted in intense graffiti, mismanagement and high-level irresponsibility. Protesters accuse the political elite of siphoning state resources for their own benefit.
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