utorak, 4. kolovoza 2020.
"AS IN HIROSHIM"
All about the apocalypse in Beirut: Buildings destroyed, hospitals overcrowded, wounded and the prime minister's family
Lebanese top says 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were detonated, Trump thinks attack
By: Željko TrkanjecPosted: August 4, 2020 10:42 pm
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IN THE DESTROYED HOSPITAL
Heartbreaking photo from Beirut: 'This heroine wrapped them, guarded them and called for help ...'
STUNNING SCENES
'As if an atomic bomb had exploded': Footage of the moment of detonation in Beirut is amazing
Marwan Abboud , the mayor of Beirut, called the terrifying explosion that destroyed the port of the Lebanese capital "a national catastrophe like Hiroshima".
Two extremely powerful explosions took place in the port on Tuesday evening, one after the other, and the other was significantly stronger, according to eyewitnesses. The consequences are terrible. According to the information we have at the time of concluding this text, there is talk of at least 78 dead and more than 4,000 injured. It is quite certain that these terrible numbers will continue to grow. An additional problem is that the nearest hospital that cannot receive the injured was killed, and there is a lack of blood in other hospitals. The wife and daughter of Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab were also injured .
lebanon #beirut
This is not a movie seen That just happened in Beirut, Lebanon.
Please pray for everyone who was there!
2020 be #beirutexplosion pic.twitter.com/YxohHJC4MU
- Pawan Kalyan Holics ™ (@PSPKHolics) August 4, 2020
The strength of the explosions is best illustrated by the following data: the airport at the far end of the city, 10 kilometers away, also suffered damage; the blasts were also heard by residents of Cyprus, 250 kilometers away.
"I saw a fireball and smoke over Beirut. People were screaming and running, bleeding. Balconies were taken from the buildings. "The window panes on the tall buildings shattered and fell on the streets," said an eyewitness.
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injured in blasts in Beirut
IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP
Security sources confirmed two explosions and a large number of injured. Abbas Ibrahim , Lebanon's head of internal security, said the blasts occurred in a part of the port where highly sensitive explosives but not explosives are stored. Some sources, including Russian Sputnik (which is biased when it comes to Russian issues but very precise when it comes to global issues) state that ammonium nitrate was seized from one ship last year in one of the warehouses. It is a chemical used in the production of fertilizer that can be explosive: it was used by Anders Breivik in his attacks., a Norwegian right-wing radical, a terrorist and a mass murderer. Tons of ammonium nitrate were reportedly stored there. Most security sources claimed that it was an accident and that it was not caused by external action.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun immediately convened the Defense Council, but information subsequently arrived that his palace had also suffered serious damage. After the council session, Aoun called for the introduction of a two-week state of emergency, and suggested on Twitter that as much as 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate had gone into the air.
- It is unacceptable that for six years we had 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored without any safety measures. All those responsible must be severely punished, said Aoun.
His suggestion was soon confirmed by Prime Minister Diab in a separate statement.
US President Donald Trump, on the other hand, claimed that it seemed to him that the explosions were a 'terrible attack'. When asked by reporters to clarify the thesis, he replied that this is the opinion of the American generals with whom he met during the day.
- It seems to me that they think it was an attack. That it was some kind of bomb, he added.
The United States and Iran immediately offered all necessary assistance to Lebanon. A country that has found itself at the crossroads of interests of powerful global and regional leaders whose forces very often clash precisely over this beautiful country. The first strong blow was in 1975, when a civil war broke out in which all the neighbors, Syria and Israel, got involved, but also those a little further on, like Iran. During that war, Hezbollah was formed in 1985, a Shiite movement formed by the Islamic Republic of Iran with the aim of protecting its interests in the area.
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Marwan TAHTAH / AFP
Today, it is one of the most powerful paramilitaries in the Middle East, which fought Israel for more than a month in 2006 and was not defeated - which was the reason for numerous reforms in the army of the Jewish state. Hezbollah operates in two directions, on the one hand it is a political party representing the interests of the Shiite community: after the civil war in 1990, a religious key to the division of power was defined, so Shiites have a parliament speaker, Sunnis have a prime minister and Christians have a president.
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STR / AFP
A crucial moment in the development of post-war Lebanon was the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005 - a bomb blast in Beirut. This extremely popular Sunni politician was very likely the target of Hezbollah, with the cooperation of the Syrian secret service. But the aftermath of the assassination was initially negative for Hezbollah as Syrian forces finally had to withdraw from Lebanon.
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IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP
Hezbollah, however, succeeded in part of its intentions, the Sunni side was left without a leader, and Hariri’s son Saad failed to get into his father’s shoes. Which all resulted in the strengthening of the political influence of Hezbollah, which managed to achieve political supremacy. Yet insufficient to fully take over the country.
And then came the Arab Spring that sparked the war in Syria. Hezbollah has sided with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad , a member of the Alawite community close to the Shiites. One million refugees from Syria are arriving in Lebanon.
#BREAKING - INSANE CCTV footage from an office in #Beirut , #Lebanon during the MASSIVE explosion. pic.twitter.com/yVpUppaawH
- SV News 🚨 (@SVNewsAlerts) August 4, 2020
But the problem was not so much the war in Syria or the refugees. The problem was the system of government, which essentially suppressed democracy because places for certain communities were defined in advance (comparison with BiH is more than appropriate). The first sign of the problem was the dissatisfaction of the citizens of Beirut with the inability of the authorities to organize garbage collection. Soon after, it became clear that the problem was not only the capital, but also the entire state, which for months could not, for example, elect a president (the current Aoun is very close to Hezbollah). To then inevitably happen: a state that is not well managed sinks into trouble. Authorities decided late last year to tax WhatsApp which sparked protests that at the time seemed to unite Lebanon because Shiites, Sunnis and Christians were on the streets together. Hezbollah tried to take over the protests, but failed.
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STR / AFP
Soon after, Lebanon will admit that it can no longer repay its debts: external debt has climbed to 170% of GDP. And then began the disintegration of this state that has been going on for months. Today, Lebanon is a failed state in any case. On Monday , Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned, saying he could not be a member of a government that "has no political will to stop the country's financial decline". He used the term "failed state."
The situation in the country is getting worse, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian recently visited Lebanon , saying the only solution was IMF assistance. But it only comes with reform commitments. At the time, on July 23, Le Drian may have even acted prophetically: “Lebanon is in a very worrying situation. The economic and financial crisis is raging and has concrete, dramatic consequences for Lebanese men and women who are getting poorer every day. ” His call "help us to help you", do something so that you can get help, the voice of one crying in the desert remained.
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