In the wake of the August 4 Beirut Port explosion, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros Al-Rai called for the removal of all arms and explosives depots from Lebanon’s residential areas.
Lebanon’s top Maronite cleric urged the Lebanese authorities to carry out raids on depots and warehouses caching illegal munitions, because of the crucial security risk they are posing on the citizens.
“Some Lebanese regions have turned into fields of explosives that we do not know when they will blow up or who will detonate them,” Patriarch Al-Rai stated, voicing out the current fear of the Lebanese people.
The Beirut Port explosion that killed over 200 people, injured at least 6,000 and left 300,000 homeless was caused by as much as 2,750 tonnes of high-density ammonium nitrate.
The blast devastated all neighborhoods in its surroundings.
President Aoun denied that the explosion was caused by possible Hezbollah arms depot in the port, saying that his ally “doesn’t need to store its weapons in the port.”
However, the mere existence of illegal weapons warehouses in population centers raises concern over people’s safety after the Beirut blast.
Al-Rai’s call for their removal is the least the government must do to avoid another murderous catastrophe.
The citizens of Lebanon need to feel safe in their own homes, at work, in their errands, in hospitals, in their praying places, and wherever they are and commute in their country.
