Lebanese law enforcement officials used tear gas on Thursday evening, August 6, to disperse dozens of demonstrators who were very excited after the gigantic deadly explosion in the port of Beirut this week, which has become a symbol of the authorities' incompetence and corruption .
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Protesters vandalized shops and threw stones at police officers in the parliament area, according to the National News Agency. Protesters were injured during the police response, the official agency said.
These incidents occur on the eve of a major anti-government demonstration, scheduled for Saturday in this country in the grip of an unprecedented economic crisis.
Provoked on Tuesday by a fire in the warehouse where 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored for six years at the port of Beirut, the huge explosion left at least 149 dead and 5,000 injured, not to mention dozens of missing and hundreds thousands of homeless people.
Lebanese authorities say the warehouse exploded after a fire. Port authorities, customs and some security services were all aware that hazardous chemicals were stored there, but they blamed each other.
