Lebanon: Government Rejects International Probe Into Explosion

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun Saturday rejected calls for an international inquiry into the explosion that shook Beirut and killed more than 150 people on August 4.

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Aoun feels that an international probe would slow the investigation process and could dilute the truth.

"The demand for an international investigation into what happened at the port would be a waste of time and that justice must be expedited, but without haste to determine who are criminals and who are innocent,” an official press release stated.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Beirut two days after the blast, called for a transparent and international inquiry.

In addition, several social actors also urged the Government to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the causes of the explosion.

Even when authorities considered the 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse as the possible detonator, the Government does not rule out the possibility that the explosion might have been provoked by a missile launched by foreign forces.

"There are two possible scenarios for what happened: it was either negligence or foreign interference," Aoun said. “The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined, as there is a possibility of external interference via a missile, bomb, or any other action.”