The country has been gripped by escalating anger following the Beirut explosion, with citizens fed up with incompetence and corruption.
In the wake of massive protests and growing anger among Lebanon’s citizens following the explosion that levelled much of Beirut (including the Beirut Port, the key economic lifeline for the nation), the ENTIRE Lebanese cabinet has resigned.
After several government ministers stepped down earlier, the entire cabinet has resigned following a meeting on Monday:
Health minister Hamad Hassan said “The whole government resigned.”
Lebanon’s PM Hassan Diab will “hand over the resignation in the name of all the ministers,” he added.
The blast – which occurred when a fire erupted in a massive warehouse storing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate – decimated the Port, killed at least 16o people, wounded 6,000, and has left a whopping 300,000 people homeless, in addition to causing roughly $15 billion in damage.
This has occurred in a nation that was already in a state of near-economic collapse, with massive unemployment, growing poverty, and widespread corruption.
The ammonium nitrate had been stored for over 6 years, despite the immense danger it posed, and despite 6 separate attempts to have it moved to a less populated area, all of which ended with nothing being done.
This has set off immense and justified rage in the country, where people had already lost faith with a government widely seen as endemically corrupt – so much so that aid organizations are desperately trying to make clear that they will be bypassing the government and getting aid directly to the people, as many Lebanese Citizens warn that the government cannot be trusted.
With the entire cabinet stepping down, the Lebanese People may have a chance for some true representatives to undertake the herculean task of rebuilding Beirut and bringing the country out of this horrible moment in time.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
