Dozens of people died and thousands were injured in the blasts in the port of Beirut. In the city damaged half of the building, the hospitals are overwhelmed. The President of Lebanon Michel Aoun convened an emergency meeting of the Supreme defence Council. Following the meeting in Beirut was declared a city disaster, the country introduced a state of emergency. The army has taken control of the destroyed neighborhoods. According to the preliminary version, the explosion occurred in the warehouse with the seized ammonium nitrate.”Who was in Beirut today, crying. May God have mercy on all the victims, and everyone who can donate blood to the wounded, does not hesitate for a minute, because so many of them”, describing the Lebanese in social networks the effects of explosions in the port of Beirut. Lebanese doctors can’t find words when talking about the victims. All the hospitals in the city are overcrowded. Among the victims were the Secretary General of the Lebanese nationalist party “Kataib” Nazar Najarian. Among the victims — the wife and daughter of the Prime Minister of Lebanon Hassan Diab, a few of his advisers, the UN peacekeepers, the Consul of the Embassy of Kazakhstan, an employee of the Russian Embassy. On Wednesday in Lebanon declared a national mourning. The President Michel Aoun convened an emergency meeting of the Supreme defence Council. Following the meeting in Beirut was declared a city of disaster, the government introduced a two-week state of emergency.Two explosions in the port occurred on Tuesday evening. First, there were several small cotton, five minutes later a black and white smoke, and then there was a powerful explosion, which was heard not only all along the Lebanese coast, but also in Cyprus, which is more than 240 km from Beirut. According to Jordanian seismological Observatory, explosions were the equivalent of the power of earthquake by force 4,5 points under the Richter scale.The explosions in the town damaged half of the building. Completely destroyed the port, damaged the airport, which is approximately 10 km from the epicenter of the explosions, presidential Palace, Prime Minister’s office, the building of several diplomatic missions, including the Russian Embassy. “The blast made the doors and broke the glass on the front of the building,” said TASS, the Advisor to the diplomatic mission Vyacheslav Maksudov. Security forces and army have blocked all the streets leading to the port.According to the head of General security of Lebanon General Abbas Ibrahim, in the warehouse detonated explosives that had been stored there for a long time. Later, the Prime Minister and the President of Lebanon stated that the cause of the explosion was improper storage for six years 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate (ammonium nitrate). Among the first concerns of the Lebanese versions heard about the attack by Israel, because a few hours earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened the Lebanese movement “Hezbollah”. However, Israel is quickly denied his involvement in the incident. “The explosion happened not in the storage of ammunition to Hizbollah. This event is not associated with the security (of Israel.—“B”),”— said a source in the Israel defense forces to local media. For its part, Hezbollah also stated that the explosion was not in its stock.The explosions took place near the residence of former Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri, and one of the first thoughts that occurred to Lebanese, was the thought of the attack. His father also served as Prime Minister (1992-1998 and 2000-2004), was killed in the attack on 14 February 2005. It is noteworthy that just shortly before the explosions in the port of Saad Hariri met at his residence with top leaders of the country’s security forces to discuss the upcoming Friday the sentencing of the Special UN Tribunal for Lebanon of four persons in absentia accused in the murder of his father.The Prime Minister of Lebanon Hassan Diab promised to disclose all information about the bombing and punish those responsible. He also called on “friendly and brotherly States to support Lebanon”. “Lebanon can’t do this alone,” said he. Its assistance to the Lebanese people have suggested Qatar, Iran, Turkey, UAE, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, France, USA and even Israel. Increasing the number of condolence. Themselves Lebanese, meanwhile, are showing incredible solidarity, offering shelter to the victims.Marianna Belenkaya
