United Nations agencies have warned that Lebanon faces a humanitarian crisis, with the devastating explosion at the country’s main port in Beirut on Tuesday likely to interrupt food supplies and push up prices.
A BBC report noted that Lebanon was already suffering a major economic downturn before the explosion, which left at least 154 people dead, 5 000 injured and 300 000 homeless.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said the damage to Beirut’s port would interrupt food supplies and push prices up, and the World Health Organization said the health system was seriously damaged, with three hospitals out of action.
The report said that, before Tuesday’s explosion, 75% of Lebanese were in need of aid, 33% had lost their jobs, and one million people were living below the poverty line.
WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said the organisation was concerned the severe damage to Beirut’s port – the largest in the country – could limit the flow of food supplies and push prices beyond the reach of many.
The organization said it was sending 5 000 food parcels, each of which would be enough to feed a family of five for a month, and was planning to import wheat flour and grains.
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that Lebanese President Michel Aoun rejected calls for an international investigation into the explosion, saying local authorities would examine whether it was triggered by ‘external interference’, such as a bomb.
The report said the leader of the militant Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, also denied allegations that it had stored weapons or ammunition at the port.
The government has said the explosion was caused by the detonation of 2 750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the subject of an unresolved legal dispute, that had been stored unsafely at the port for six years.
Image: Wikimedia Commons