BEIRUT: A group of international and regional rights groups on Tuesday urged member states of the UN Human Rights Council to establish an investigative mission into last year’s massive deadly blast at Beirut’s port.
Human Rights Watch said the call was made in a joint letter by 53 Lebanese, regional, and international groups and individuals, as well as 62 survivors and families of the victims.
HRW said it documented many flaws in the domestic investigation of the explosion — including flagrant political interference, lack of respect for fair trial standards and violations of due process.
Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate — a highly explosive material used in fertilizers — had been improperly stored in the port for years. The chemicals ignited in the catastrophic Aug. 4 blast that killed 211 people, injured more than 6,000 and damaged entire neighborhoods.
It still remains unknown what triggered an initial fire at the warehouse that then caused the explosion and who was responsible for storing the rotting fertilizer there since 2014.
“Lebanese authorities have had over 10 months to demonstrate that they are willing and capable of conducting a credible investigation,” said Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. “But they have failed on all accounts,”
Six days after the blast, the Lebanese government referred the Beirut explosion to the country’s Judicial Council, a special court with no appeals process. No indictments have been issued so far.
In December, the prosecutor probing the blast filed charges against the caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, and three former ministers, accusing them of negligence that led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
Two months later, the judge in the probe was replaced following legal challenges by two former Cabinet ministers he had accused of negligence.
Rights groups urge UN probe mission for Beirut port blast
https://arab.news/54d8b
Rights groups urge UN probe mission for Beirut port blast
- Human Rights Watch said the call was made in a joint letter by over a hundred Lebanese, regional, and international groups, individuals and survivors and families of the victims
14 migrants drown off Turkiye after chase ends in deadly collision
- Search and rescue operations were continuing by land, sea and air to locate any remaining people who may still be missing
ANKARA: At least 14 migrants drowned on Monday after a boat carrying them collided with a coast guard boat off Turkiye’s Mediterranean coast during a chase, officials said.
The incident occurred near the coast of Demre, in Antalya province, as the vessel carrying Afghans ignored calls to stop and attempted maneuvers at high-speed to escape the coast guard boats, the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Gov. Hulusi Sahin as saying.
Seven people were rescued from the sea by coast guard teams and given immediate medical care, Sahin said. Fourteen others who reached the shore were detained by gendarmerie units.
Search and rescue operations were continuing by land, sea and air to locate any remaining people who may still be missing.
Authorities have launched both a judicial and an administrative investigation into the incident, Anadolu said.
Separately, Turkiye has drawn up plans to deal with a potential inflow of people fleeing the war in neighboring Iran, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said on Wednesday, with preparations including possible buffer zones along the frontier and tent camps.
There was currently no unusual movement at the three border gates along the Iran-Turkiye border, Ciftci added.
Speaking in Ankara, Ciftci said three contingency plans had been drawn up by authorities: managing any potential migrant flow on the Iranian side of the border; creating buffer zones along the frontier if movement cannot be stopped; and letting people into Turkiye under controlled conditions.
He added that Turkiye had prepared initial capacity to host up to 90,000 people in the event of a sudden inflow, including tent camps and temporary accommodation sites.
On Monday, hundreds of Iranians crossed the border into Turkiye. Others were reportedly waiting to cross. Ciftci said authorities had been informed that Iran was restricting its own citizens from leaving the country, while allowing Turkish nationals and third-country citizens to exit.
