Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Monday announced the resignation of his government nearly a week after a devastating explosion in Beirut that stirred public outrage and spurred a string of ministers to step down.
Diab announced the resignation of the entire cabinet in a televised evening address to the nation, characterizing the detonation of highly explosive material warehoused at the capital’s port for the past seven years as being “the result of endemic corruption.”
“Today, we follow the will of the people in their demand to hold accountable those responsible for the disaster that has been in hiding for seven years, and their desire for real change,” he said. “In the face of this reality … I am announcing today the resignation of this government.”
The deadly Aug. 4 port warehouse detonation of more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate has killed 163 people, injured more than 6,000 and destroyed a swathe of the Mediterranean city, compounding months of political and economic turmoil.
The cabinet, formed in January with the backing of the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah group and its allies, met on Monday, with many ministers saying they wanted to resign, according to ministerial and political sources.❐
Reuters
