BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said Saturday it has carried out a survey of more than 85,000 dwellings, businesses and other building units damaged by the massive Beirut port blast last month.
The August 4 explosion of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut port killed more than 190 people, wounded thousands and ravaged large parts of the capital.
“A total of 85,744 affected units have been surveyed,” the army said.
It had surveyed 60,818 housing units, 19,115 businesses, 1,137 heritage units, 962 restaurants, 82 teaching institutions and 12 hospitals, among other untis.
It recorded almost 550,000 square meters (half a square kilometer) of glass ravaged, and well as 140,000 square meters of glass facades broken.
More than 108,000 doors had been damaged, the survey showed.
The army said it was still looking for nine people — three Lebanese, five Syrians and an Egyptian — still missing after the blast.
The survey “is considered to be sufficient, and there is therefore no need for further surveys by donor countries,” it said in a statement.
The army said the donors, non-governmental organizations or volunteers could request access to the results.
On August 9, international donors pledged over 250 million euros (around $300 million) in emergency aid, in a video conference jointly organized by France and the United Nations.
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed in early September during a second visit to Lebanon since the blast to host a second conference in Paris in the second half of October.
Lebanon army surveys 85,000 building units post-Beirut blast
https://arab.news/ceran
Lebanon army surveys 85,000 building units post-Beirut blast
- The August 4 explosion at Beirut port killed more than 190 people
- The army surveyed 60,818 housing units, 19,115 businesses, 1,137 heritage units, 962 restaurants, 82 teaching institutions and 12 hospitals, among other untis
Hundreds mourn in Syria’s Homs after deadly mosque bombing
- Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect
HOMS: Hundreds of mourners gathered Saturday despite rain and cold outside of a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs where a bombing the day before killed eight people and wounded 18.
The crowd gathered next to the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi Al-Dhahab neighborhood, where the population is predominantly from the Alawite minority, before driving in convoys to bury the victims.
Officials have said the preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque but have not yet publicly identified a suspect.
A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated that the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shia Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates.
The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.
A neighbor of the mosque, who asked to be identified only by the honorific Abu Ahmad (“father of Ahmad“) out of security concerns, said he was at home when he heard the sound of a “very very strong explosion.”
He and other neighbors went to the mosque and saw terrified people running out of it, he said. They entered and began trying to help the wounded, amid blood and scattered body parts on the floor.
While the neighborhood is primarily Alawite, he said the mosque had always been open to members of all sects to pray.
“It’s the house of God,” he said. “The mosque’s door is open to everyone. No one ever asked questions. Whoever wants to enter can enter.”
Mourners were unable to enter the mosque to pray Saturday because the crime scene remained cordoned off, so they prayed outside.
Some then marched through the streets chanting “Ya Ali,” in reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law whom Shiite Muslims consider to be his rightful successor.
