Week After Deadly Blast, Lebanon Crisis Deepens

Beirut, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Aug, 2020 ) :The resignation of Lebanon's government deepened political uncertainty as Beirut on Tuesday marked one week since the deadly port explosion rocked the capital and shook the nation to its core.

The August 4 blast, the country's worst peacetime tragedy which killed at least 160 people and wounded over 6,000, is widely blamed on state negligence and has ignited unprecedented popular rage against the ruling class.

Under pressure from all sides, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced his government's resignation on Monday, even as protesters clashed with riot police near his office for a third consecutive evening of street violence.

In his speech, the 61-year-old sought to cast himself as a champion of the struggle against a cartel of corrupt political overlords, despite the fact many Lebanese have long regarded him as their puppet rather than a victim.

As the shattered and traumatised capital city licked its wounds, its streets still filled with the sound of broken glass being swept away, people welcomed news of the cabinet's resignation with mixed feelings.

Some saw it as a victory for the protest movement that already forced out the previous government last year. Others warned that, given the power of Lebanon's factions and family clans, the same old faces may be back before too long.

"It's a long fight that won't end in a month or two," said Hussein El Achi, an activist and lawyer defending the resurgent protest camp.

"But they are weak, they have never been weaker, even among their own people," he said of the entrenched oligarchy of former warlords running the country. "I am very hopeful ... with what I'm seeing on the street."