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Half of Lebanon’s population is facing famine after a massive explosion that destroyed most of the port of Beirut, the country’s main logistics hub. This was announced by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
The UN noted a strong dependence Lebanon of food imports. In addition, the country has experienced a crisis this year: the Lebanese pound has depreciated 78% and food prices in July 2020 increased by 141% compared to last year.
The UN Commission has called on the Lebanese government to rebuild the destroyed grain storage facilities in the port as soon as possible, to renovate the central medicine warehouse and to ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines.
The UN stressed the need to increase the cost of agricultural production by more than 50%, as Lebanese farmers lose around 30% of their production due to poor harvesting skills and lack of infrastructure.
A powerful explosion in the port of Beirut occurred on the night of August 4. Many buildings have been damaged or destroyed in the areas near the port of the Lebanese capital. Reuters reported, citing eyewitnesses, that the blast was so powerful that even residents of Cyprus’ capital Nicosia, which is almost 200 km from Beirut, felt it. Al Jazeera TV reported that the blast had thrown cars onto the roof of the three-story-high factory.
The victims were 220 people.
The governor of the Lebanese capital, Marwan Abboud, said that as a result of the explosion, up to 300,000 people were left homeless. Damage from the blast could reach $ 15 billion, he said.
Ukraine sent food and medicine to the affected capital of the country.
According to preliminary information, the explosion occurred on ammonium nitrate warehouse after a fire caused by welding.
According to Reuters, Lebanese authorities ignored offers from customs to re-export or sell 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate confiscated from the Rhosus ship (owned by Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin) in the port of Beirut. As the agency interlocutor said, the team of inspectors warned that if the saltpeter was not removed, “all of Beirut could be blown up.”
The explosion and its aftermath sparked massive protests, against which the Lebanese government resigned on August 10.
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