Officials say the second, more devastating explosion most likely came from a nearby 2,750-ton stockpile of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical often used as fertilizer, which Prime Minister Hassan Diab said had been stored in a depot for six years.Oct 14, 2021
The explosion resulted from the detonation of tons of ammonium nitrate, a combustible chemical compound commonly used in agriculture as a high-nitrate fertilizer, but which can also be used to manufacture explosives.Oct 6, 2021
The Lebanese government had promised an urgent investigation, but the official version of events satisfies no one: According to the authorities, the ammonium nitrate that caused the blast entered the port by mistake after a ship was damaged off the Lebanese coast and an accident in a warehouse caused the explosion.Nov 2, 2021
On 18 August 2020, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon found Salim Ayyash, a mid-level operative in Hezbollah, guilty in absentia of five charges including the intentional murder of Hariri with premeditation by using explosive materials. Three other defendants were acquitted.
2182020 Beirut explosion / Number of deaths
Reconsider travel to Lebanon due to crime, terrorism, armed conflict, civil unrest, kidnapping and Embassy Beirut's limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens. Some areas have increased risk.Dec 20, 2021
This could have been prevented, 218 people would not have lost their lives, 6,500 would not have been injured, and USD 15 billion would not have been lost in destruction.Aug 4, 2021
Beirut Explosion: The Largest Non-Nuclear Blast in History.Nov 18, 2021
Beirut was one of the first places in the Middle East to have a record store when the Baidaphon label started in 1907. The city has been destroyed and rebuilt seven times.
Hariri lived in Paris from 2011 to 2014 for safety reasons, and returned to Lebanon on 8 August 2014. In 2011, he was said to have a net worth of $2 billion. As of May 2018, his net worth is estimated to be $1.36 billion.
Beirut, LebanonRafic Hariri / Place of assassinationBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As of 2014, Greater Beirut has a population of 2.4 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Wikipedia
Najib MikatiLebanon / Prime ministerNajib Azmi Mikati is a Lebanese politician and businessman, and three-time Prime Minister of Lebanon whose current term began in September 2021. He previously served as Prime Minister from June 2011 to February 2014 and from April to July 2005. Wikipedia