Hezbollah calls for depoliticized investigation in Beirut blast

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net
4 Aug 2022 09:38

Hezbollah reiterates its call for an impartial and just investigation based on legal principles, free of political and sectarian bias.

Drone footage shows the scale of destruction in Beirut (Archive)

On the second anniversary of the tragic explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020, Hezbollah expressed once again its condolences to "the families of all martyrs, Christians, and Muslims, Lebanese and non-Lebanese," as well as the wounded and their families, most notably those who are still in hospitals.

In a statement, Hezbollah reaffirmed its stance, calling for a just investigation into the Beirut port blast which is based on legal principles, and free of political and sectarian bias.

"We sincerely believe that only justice can mend wounds, establish internal stability, and inspire us all to engage in calm dialogue to overcome the dangerous crisis that our country, Lebanon, is going through," Hezbollah added in the statement.

The statement noted that a massive wave of political and media campaigns have been launched during the past two years, including false accusations and a great amount of incitement which led to rising tensions in the country.

In a similar context, members of the International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) urged the Lebanese authorities, on Wednesday, to do everything possible to remove any impediments to “the completion of an impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation into the port explosion”.

The August 4 mega-blast was one of the largest non-nuclear detonations ever recorded and was blamed on a fire that ignited tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that had been haphazardly stored for years at the Beirut port.

The families of Beirut port blast victims have lately filed a lawsuit against US firm TGS Nopec Geophysical, owner of British firm Spectrum Geo for its suspected links to the Ammonium nitrate-carrying ship Rhosus.

The probe was filed in Texas against the US-Norwegian geophysical services group TGS.

Families of the Beirut port blast victims accuse Spectrum of "negligence that resulted in the death of their loved ones”.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors hope that Spectrum's exact role in the explosion will be clarified.

The explosion, which was described as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in recent history, killed over 200 people, injured thousands, and destroyed entire neighborhoods.