Lebanon marked the sixth anniversary of the deadly Beirut port blast on Tuesday with marches and vigils but little in the way of justice for the victims, despite recent progress in the investigation.
Several senior political and security figures have been implicated but no one has been held accountable for one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. The blast killed at least 220 people, injured thousands and left swathes of the Lebanese capital in ruins.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who attended a gathering of officials and victims' relatives at the port, said prosecutors were finalising the results of the investigation, which he expected to be released within 60 to 90 days.
“We have to send a message – certainly to the families of the victims – that justice has to be done and we will follow this case to the end,” he told The National.
Nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored at the port for years, despite repeated warnings to the authorities, exploded shortly after 6pm on August 4, 2020.
A 2021 report from Human Rights Watch said that on July 20, 2020, Lebanon’s State Security sent a three-page report to the president at the time, Michel Aoun, and the then prime minister Hassan Diab indicating that ammonium nitrate, which “could be used to make explosives”, was being stored in Hangar 12.
Mr Aoun and Mr Diab later admitted to having received the warning. The report states that Mr Diab was told about the ammonium nitrate in early June.
Lack of progress
One side of the highway running next to Beirut port was closed on Tuesday as marches marking the blast anniversary converged there before 6.07pm, the time the explosion occurred. One came from Martyrs' Square in downtown Beirut and the other from the nearby fire brigade headquarters in Karantina. Ten firefighters from the station who went to put out the initial blaze at the port were killed in the subsequent blast.
A minute's silence was observed after the names of the victims were read out, punctuated by the blaring of horns from nearby ships.
The families of the victims have denounced the lack of progress in the investigation into the blast, which has been repeatedly impeded by legal challenges that forced lead judge Tarek Bitar to pause it for months.
Some of the victims' relatives who spoke at the port gathering called out the names of officials they believed bear responsibility for the blast or for stalling the investigation.
“Justice will be done. And those who will be mentioned in the indictment will have to be tried. You destroyed the city,” said Celine Roukoz, a lawyer whose brother was killed in the explosion.
Mr Bitar completed his investigation in March this year and submitted his findings to the prosecutor's office, where the thousands of pages of documents are being reviewed.
“Now we have full co-operation between the investigative judge and the prosecution,” said Mr Nassar, the Justice Minister.
Lebanon's judiciary has long been subject to political interference, but Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, formerly head judge of the International Court of Justice, has sought to introduce legislation to protect its independence.
Ever since the blast, families of the victims have been holding vigils at the entrance to Beirut port on the fourth day of every month to demand justice.
The Beirut Bar Association on Tuesday highlighted the repeated delays in the investigation and the early promises that “justice would be quick”.
“But the years have proven that the road to justice is much longer and more difficult,” it lamented.
Mr Salam's government, formed at the start of 2025, has repeatedly emphasised that justice over the blast remains a priority.
“Let no one doubt that there is no cover for any official, whatever their position, neither in the file of the Beirut port explosion nor in any other file. Accountability will spare no one,” Mr Salam said.
About 70 people are believed to be implicated in the case, including former senior ministers and security chiefs. The tragedy also exposed deep-rooted corruption and negligence at the heart of Lebanon’s political and judicial systems.
