<p>Security forces in Lebanon have fired water cannon and tear gas at anti-government protesters calling for justice on the one-year anniversary of the Beirut explosion.</p> <p>Demonstrators in the city had been throwing stones at the parliament building, with some trying to climb its gate.</p> <p>Earlier, thousands of people gathered to hold a moment of silence to mark exactly one year since the <strong><a href="https://news.sky.com/topic/beirut-explosion-8847">blast at the city’s port</a></strong>, which killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands.</p> <div class="sdc-site-video sdc-article-widget callfn" data-fn="sdc-site-video" data-component-name="sdc-site-video" data-lite="true" data-id="id_eb49cd33-f971-48fa-a566-c51c129ccc42" data-video-id="ref:eb49cd33-f971-48fa-a566-c51c129ccc42" data-account-id="6058004172001" data-provider="brightcove" data-originator-id="51" data-clip-type="" data-sdc-video-id="eb49cd33-f971-48fa-a566-c51c129ccc42" data-sensitive="false" data-player-id="RC9PQUaJ6" data-video-blacklisted-originator-ids="" data-package="" data-asset-path="" data-asset-version="" data-competition="" data-sport-category="" data-amp-iframe-embed="" data-autoplay="" data-options="" data-video-ad-unit="" data-is-live-stream="false" data-state="loading" data-copy-url-text="URL copied to clipboard" tabindex="-1" readability="7"> <p class="sdc-site-video__accessibility-message" data-role="accessibility-message">Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player</p> <div class="sdc-site-video__inner"> <div class="sdc-site-video__content"> <span aria-hidden="true" data-role="poster" class="sdc-site-video__poster"><br /> <img src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/skynews-beirut-blast_5468174.jpg?20210804180050%20600w" alt="" srcset="" aria-hidden="true" class="sdc-site-video__poster-img"><br /> <span class="sdc-site-video__loader"></span></p> <p> </span><br /> <video id="id_eb49cd33-f971-48fa-a566-c51c129ccc42" data-embed="default" data-application-id="" class="video-js sdc-site-video__tag" controls="" playsinline=""></video> </div><figcaption class="sdc-site-video__caption"> <p> <span class="sdc-site-video__caption-text" data-role="caption-text">Minute silence one year on from Beirut blast</span><br /> </figcaption></div> </p></div> <p>Protesters were seen marching through the streets, waving Lebanese flags and holding pictures of victims.</p> <p>Banks, businesses and government offices were closed to pay tribute to those who lost their lives on what was declared a national day of mourning.</p> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region " data-interscroller="true" data-format="floated-mpu" data-role="sticky-region" data-component-name="sdc-site-layout"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__target"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__mask"> <div class="sdc-site-layout-sticky-region__content"> <div class="sdc-site-au-wrapper "> <div class="sdc-site-au site-component-vertical-margin" data-ad-format="mpu-1" data-type="" aria-hidden="true"> <p> <span class="sdc-site-au__label-text" data-label-text="Advertisement">Advertisement</span> </p> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> <p><strong><a href="https://news.sky.com/story/beirut-explosion-officials-knew-risks-of-storing-explosive-materials-but-failed-to-protect-public-says-rights-group-12371752">No senior official has yet been held to account</a></strong> for the explosion, which was caused by a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-related-stories" data-component-name="sdc-article-related-stories"> <div class="sdc-article-related-stories__content"> <h3 class="sdc-article-related-stories__title">More on Beirut</h3> </p></div> </div> <p>“We will not forget and we will not forgive them ever,” said Hiyam al Bikai, dressed in black and clutching a picture of her son, Ahmad, who was killed when masonry fell on his car.</p> <p>“And if they can’t bring them to account, we will by our own hands.”</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"> <figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"> <div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"> <img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/2372108040405793207_5468208.jpg?20210804184431" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/384x216/2372108040405793207_5468208.jpg?20210804184431 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/2372108040405793207_5468208.jpg?20210804184431 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/1600x900/2372108040405793207_5468208.jpg?20210804184431 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/2048x1152/2372108040405793207_5468208.jpg?20210804184431 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="A demonstrator runs amid smoke rising from tear gas during a protest near parliament, as Lebanon marks the one-year anniversary of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir"> </div><figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"> <span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden">Image:</span><br /> <span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text">Tear gas was fired at protesters near the parliament building</span><br /> </figcaption></figure> </div> <p>Another source of public anger is the country’s crippling economy, which will receive £266m in emergency aid raised at a donor conference on Wednesday.</p> <p>In his remarks at the event, French President Emmanuel Macron criticised a “failing” Lebanese political class that has been unable to form a government in the year since the blast, despite French and international pressure.</p> <p>“Lebanese leaders seem to bet on a stalling strategy, which I regret and I think is a historic and moral failure,” he said.</p> <p>President Joe Biden said the US will give the country almost $100m (£72m) in additional humanitarian aid.</p> <div class="sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image"> <figure class="sdc-article-image__figure"> <div class="sdc-article-image__wrapper" data-aspect-ratio="16/9"> <img class="sdc-article-image__item" loading="lazy" intrinsicsize="768x432" src="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/2372108040405792107_5468199.jpg?20210804184509" srcset="https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/384x216/2372108040405792107_5468199.jpg?20210804184509 380w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/768x432/2372108040405792107_5468199.jpg?20210804184509 760w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/1600x900/2372108040405792107_5468199.jpg?20210804184509 1024w, https://e3.365dm.com/21/08/2048x1152/2372108040405792107_5468199.jpg?20210804184509 2048w" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw" alt="People attend a mass in memory of the victims as Lebanon marks one-year anniversary of Beirut port explosion, at the port in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Aziz Taher"> </div><figcaption class="sdc-article-image__caption"> <span class="sdc-article-image__visually-hidden">Image:</span><br /> <span class="sdc-article-image__caption-text">People attended a mass in memory of the victims</span><br /> </figcaption></figure> </div> <p>A Lebanese investigation into the explosion is at a standstill as requests have been denied for senior politicians and formal officials to lose immunity.</p> <p>All those sought for questioning by the Lebanese investigators have denied responsibility.</p> <p>Lebanon’s most senior Christian cleric also held a mass with the families of the victims at the port, saying the Lebanese people need to know who engaged in actions that led to the blast.</p> <p><strong>Follow the Daily podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/sky-news-daily/id951048357?mt=2">Apple Podcasts, </a><a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvMzI4NzI0Ni9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk"> Google Podcasts, </a><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3RdXZrbbG3NydLsPYmRSJy"> Spotify,</a><a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/sky-news-daily"> Spreaker</a></strong></p> <p>“Justice isn’t just the demand of the families of the victims but of all Lebanese,” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al Rai said.</p> <p>He added: “We want to know who brought in the explosives… who allowed for their unloading… who withdrew quantities [of explosives] from it and where it was sent.”</p> <p>The damage from the blast is still visible across large swathes of Beirut and the port remains unrepaired.</p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news/2021/08/04/protesters-clash-with-security-forces-as-lebanon-marks-one-year-since-beirut-explosion/">Protesters clash with security forces as Lebanon marks one year since Beirut explosion</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://patabook.com/news">Patabook News </a>.</p>
source https://patabook.com/blogs/105071/Protesters-clash-with-security-forces-as-Lebanon-marks-one-year
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