Lebanese commemorate 4th anniversary of deadly Beirut port blasts

BEIRUT, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) — Families of the victims of the deadly 2020 Beirut port blasts commemorated the fourth anniversary of the incident on Sunday with two marches in downtown Beirut and a gathering in front of the port’s silos.
Several families gave speeches that stressed the necessity of completing the investigation, issuing an indictment in the case, and naming those responsible for the blasts.
A few politicians, party representatives, members of civil society organizations, and hundreds of Lebanese citizens took part in the commemoration activities, raising pictures of the victims and slogans demanding justice and accountability for those involved.
They also raised a huge Lebanese flag that bears the signatures of hundreds of citizens calling for the truth about the incident to be revealed.
At 6:07 p.m. local time (1507 GMT), the participants observed a minute of silence, accompanied by the ringing of nearby church bells and the sirens of ships anchored in the port, all in tribute to the victims.
The Beirut port was rocked by two massive explosions on Aug. 4, 2020, which killed over 200 people, injured thousands, and destroyed around 50,000 housing units. The material losses were estimated at 15 billion U.S. dollars. ■