The Lebanese Army finds a cache of fireworks in the devastated port of Beirut

The explosion last August that devastated the city of Beirut was a brutal blow to the Lebanese. The citizens, weary of corruption and the economic crisis, rebelled against the politicians for having allowed the explosives that triggered the tragedy to be stored in the city's port without any control, resulting in 190 deaths. The political class was responsible for the disaster and the government resigned en bloc. Now the Middle Eastern country is seeking to lick its wounds and, with a new government, is trying to look to the future. Despite this, the traces of past mismanagement are still coming to light. The last one, this very Friday. The Lebanese army has found another cache of fireworks in the devastated port of Beirut, according to Reuters news agency.  

The uniformed personnel have reported that they found 1.3 tons of fireworks during a search of the port of Beirut, which was devastated last month in a huge explosion that was attributed to a large quantity of chemicals kept in bad condition. Up to 1320 kg of fireworks were found in 120 boxes in a warehouse during a search of the port. Army engineers have said that all the material has been disposed of.  

"As part of the reconnaissance and detection work by Army units at Beirut port, 1,320 kg of fireworks in 120 cartons were discovered in one of the hangars," the Army said in a brief statement. The port and a strip in the centre of Beirut were ruined by the huge explosion on 4 August that killed at least 190 people. The blame was placed on 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been kept in the port for years in poor condition. On 3 September the Lebanese Army also found another 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate near the entrance to Beirut port.  

On 24 August, Lebanese troops also reported that they had detected 79 containers with a material that represents a "danger" in the event of a leak stored illegally in Beirut port, including 25 containers with hydrochloric acid. So far the origin of the explosion is unknown and is being investigated with the participation of a team from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 

The President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, acknowledged days after the explosion that he had known of the existence of "a large quantity" of this fertilizer in the port since two weeks before the event. The deflagration led to the resignation en bloc of Hasan Diab's entire government on 10 August and a few weeks later Mustafa Adib was appointed as the new prime minister.