Lebanese government resigns amid ongoing protests in wake of Beirut blast
Protests that started in mid-October have intensified significantly due to the Beirut port blast, with Prime Minister Hassan Diab announcing the government's resignation Monday evening.
BEIRUT — Lebanon's government has resigned following a weekend of massive protests demanding justice for the victims of the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut which left over 150 dead and thousands injured.
Under the slogan “Judgment Day,” thousands of protesters took to the streets of the Lebanese capital Aug. 8 — from Riad al-Solh to Martyrs’ Square in the downtown area — calling for punishment of those responsible for the explosion of 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate in Warehouse 12 in the port of Beirut. The blast ripped through Beirut and destroyed a huge part of the port's surrounding neighborhoods — like Gemmayze, Mar Mikhael, Martyrs’ Square and Ashrafieh — killing hundreds and injuring more than 6,000 according to the latest figures released Aug. 8 by the Information Office of the Ministry of Public Health.
Protests continued into Sunday, with demonstrators demanding the fall of the government. The resignations of Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad and Environment Minister Damianos Kattar failed to quell demands.
Following a cabinet session held at the Grand Serail Monday, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced in a televised speech that his government will resign. Diab said the blast was "the result of endemic corruption," and called for holding those responsbile to account. There are reports that Diab will stay on in a care-taker role until a new government is formed.
