Lebanon's government has given an investigative committee four days to discover who was responsible for the explosion in Beirut on Tuesday that killed at least 145 and injured thousands, Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe told Europe 1 Radio on Thursday.
Dozens were still missing after the explosion, which is also feared to have left as many as 300,000 people homeless in a nation already staggering from economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus cases.
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"This morning, a decision was taken to create an investigative committee which in four days maximum must provide a detailed report on responsibility -- how, who, what, where? There will be judicial decisions," Wehbe said.
"It is an accident... preliminary reports indicate it is mismanagement of explosive products. This is very serious neglect that continued for six years. Those responsible for this horrible crime of negligence will be punished by a committee of judges," Wehbe vowed. "It is serious, and we take it seriously."
As of Thursday, Lebanese authorities had arrested 16 people suspected in the port warehouse explosion, including the port's general manager, Hassan Koraytem, the state news agency NNA reported.
NNA did not name the individuals, but quoted Judge Fadi Akiki, a government representative of the military court, saying that authorities had so far questioned more than 18 port and customs officials and others who worked in maintenance jobs at the warehouse.
Leader of Lebanon's Druze community Walid Jumblatt demanded an independent international probe into the explosion, which is feared to have left as many as 300,000 people homeless.
"We have no trust at all in this ruling gang," Jumblatt said, as cited by Reuters.
Speaking at a news conference at the end of a dramatic visit to Beirut, French President Emmanuel Macron also called for an international inquiry into the devastating explosion, saying it was an urgent signal to carry out anti-corruption reforms demanded by a furious population.
Macron has promised aid to Lebanon, but reassured angry citizens that no blank checks would be given to its leaders unless Lebanon enacted reforms and ended rife corruption.
The international Human Rights Watch also supported mounting calls for an international probe into the explosion.
"An independent investigation with international experts is the best guarantee that victims of the explosion will get the justice they deserve," HRW said.
Parts of this article were originally published by i24NEWS.
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