MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th August, 2020) Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said it was necessary, after an explosion in Beirut, to declare a state of emergency in the city for two weeks.
"Prime Minister Hassan Diab stressed the necessity to declare a state of emergency in Beirut for two weeks," President Michel Aoun's office said on Twitter.
This statement was made by the head of the Lebanese government at an emergency meeting of the Lebanese Supreme Defense Council.
President Aoun called for an urgent session of the Council of Ministers to be held at noon on Wednesday in the Baabda palace to discuss recommendations of the Supreme Defense Council to cope with repercussions of the blast in Beirut.
The presidential office also tweeted that the Lebanese prime minister said a batch of ammonium nitrate weighing 2,750 tonnes, which exploded in the port of Beirut, had been stored in a depot for 6 years without proper precautions.
Diab suggested forming an investigation committee that would release its results within 48 hours and specify responsibilities.
Sky news Arabia reported earlier that the Lebanese Supreme Defense Council, following an emergency meeting in connection with the Beirut blast, declared the city an emergency area, and recommended that Diab's government declare a state of emergency in the capital.
A powerful explosion occurred in the port area of Beirut on Tuesday evening. The city governor said half of the city's buildings were damaged, and hospitals were overcrowded due to a large number of those injured. According to the Health Ministry, more than 3,000 people were injured, over 70 died. The head of the country's general security service, Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, said that in line with preliminary data, explosives that had been stored in the port for a long time detonated.
