Beirut port blast investigation suspended for fourth time

 The Lebanese investigations into last year's Beirut port blast were suspended for the fourth time. Tarek Bitar was forced to stop the investigation over a lawsuit filed by ex-ministers he had summoned for interrogation. An official shared the news on Thursday. 

The suspension took place for the fourth time since Tarek Bitar was chosen to lead investigations into the port blast in February. Earlier, Bitar wanted to resume work after a series of court challenges raised by political leaders crashed his efforts. He wanted to start the investigation again to find the suspects.

The lawsuit filed by ex-ministers

On Thursday, Bitar was informed of a lawsuit. It was submitted by legislators Ghazi Zeaiter and Ali Hasan Khalil. The lawsuit forced Bitar to stop his work immediately. Reportedly, an official said that the total number of lawsuits against Bitar stands at 18. Bitar has been struggling to get high-profile witnesses to testify about the port blast accident. 

Rights groups and families of port blast victims have repeatedly slammed what they describe as blatant political interference in the investigation. The families want justice, however, the investigation keeps on getting suspended. They demand that bombings cannot go unpunished in the country.

How did the Beirut explosion take place in 2020?

 The Beirut explosion took place on August 4, 2020. It was caused by a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for years. Reportedly, a fire triggered the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely in a warehouse since 2014. Reportedly, political and security officials knew of the dangers posed by the shipment but failed to take action on time.

The tragic incident which happened in 2020, killed over 200 people, wounded 7,000 others, and devastated swathes of the city. However, no one has been held accountable for the tragic incident even after a year.