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Lebanon asks Interpol to arrest Russian captain, shipowner after Beirut blast

Lebanese authorities say the cargo ship carried the stockpile of ammonium nitrate to the port in 2013.
BEIRUT, LEBANON - SEPTEMBER 08: Workers continue to remove debris, damaged cars, and destroyed warehouses from last month's explosion at the Port’s Free Zone on September 8, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon's army says they have found more than four tonnes of ammonium nitrate near the port entrance, the same substance that caused the August 4 blast. Last month's explosion at Beirut's port killed over 200 people, injured thousands, and upended countless lives. (Photo by Haytham Al Achkar/Getty Images)

Lebanon has requested Interpol issue international arrest warrants for two Russians allegedly connected to the explosive cargo blamed for the blast that killed nearly 200 people in Beirut. 

Bound for Mozambique in 2013, the MV Rhosus cargo ship stopped at the Beirut port with 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate on board. After failing to pay port docking and other fees, the Rhosus was impounded and the next year its cargo was unloaded and stored in the port’s Warehouse 12. 

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