Lebanon police scuffle with demonstrators angered by blast
Lebanese security forces Thursday fired tear gas to disperse dozens of anti-government demonstrators
BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanese security forces late Thursday fired tear gas to disperse dozens of anti-government demonstrators angered by a cataclysmic blast widely seen as the most shocking expression yet of their government s incompetence.
The scuffles in central Beirut took place in a ravaged street leading to parliament, the wreckage from Tuesday s explosion still littering the entire area.
Protesters had sparked a blaze, vandalised stores and lobbed stones at security forces, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Police responded with tear gas to disperse the small, but clearly furious crowd, wounding some demonstrators, NNA said.
Tuesday s blast killed nearly 150 people, wounded at least 5,000 and destroyed entire districts of the capital.
Lebanese authorities said it was triggered by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate negligently stored in a warehouse at Beirut s port since 2013.
This raised questions as to how such a huge cargo of the highly explosive substance could have been left unsecured for so long.
The explosion came as Lebanon was already knee-deep in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
It added to the grievances of a protest movement that emerged in October to demand the removal of a political class deemed inept and corrupt.
Activists have called for a large anti-government demonstration on Saturday -- an event they have titled "hang them by the gallows."
Thursday s scuffles erupted as Lebanon s ambassador to Jordan resigned, saying total negligence by the country s authorities signalled the need for a leadership change.
It is the second such resignation over Tuesday s blast, after lawmaker Marwan Hamadeh also stepped down on Wednesday.
