Page 6 - aruba-today-20200911

A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 11 September 2020
Huge fire at Beirut port sows panic after last month's blast

By ZEINA KARAM and the Children's country di-
HASSAN AMMAR rector in Lebanon, said
Associated Press the fire will inevitably bring
BEIRUT (AP) — A huge fire back distressing memories
broke out at Beirut's port to many Lebanese children
Thursday, raising new panic who are still trying to recov-
among residents still strug- er from last month's blast.
gling with the traumatic "Children in Beirut have ex-
effects of the catastrophic perienced a terrible shock
explosion at the same site and they need time to
last month. recover; today's fire and
Some sought safety in panic will only make things
closed bathrooms or threw worse," she said.
open their windows to Najat Saliba, a professor
guard against shattering specializing in atmospheric
glass in case of another chemistry at the American
blast; others piled into cars University of Beirut, tweeted
to flee the capital. warnings for the elderly and
Dark smoke and the smell children to protect them-
of toxic fumes enveloped selves or even to leave
Beirut in the evening as the city if possible until the
army helicopters circled smoke cleared.
and sprayed water over The raging fire and column
the orange flames, helping An army helicopter drops water on a fire at warehouses at the seaport in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, of smoke was eerily similar
firefighters on the ground. Sept. 10. 2020. Associated Press to the one that preceded
It was unclear what caused the devastating explosion.
the blaze at the port, which stores thousands of food evidence at the port that its people. So far, authori- Back then, curious residents
was decimated by the parcels and oil, risking the led to the blast. Thursday's ties have been unable to stood on balconies or be-
Aug. 4 explosion when serious disruption of hu- fire was the second myste- provide answers about the hind windows in offices and
nearly 3,000 tons of ammo- manitarian operations. rious blaze there this week, explosion, and there has homes to photograph the
nium nitrate blew up, send- Port director Bassem al-Qa- following a small fire on been no accountability for fire, compounding the in-
ing out a shock wave that isi told Voice of Lebanon Tuesday that also caused it. juries from flying glass when
killed nearly 200 people radio that the fire started some panic but was quick- For Dana Awad, a mother the gigantic fireball mush-
and caused widespread in a warehouse containing ly extinguished. of two girls, the fire brought roomed across the city.
damage. barrels of cooking oil and Lebanon is gripped by back memories of the On Thursday, panicked resi-
The Lebanese army said later spread to where tires an unprecedented eco- tremor that shook her Beirut dents cracked open win-
the fire started in the port's were piled. He added it nomic crisis and financial neighborhood before the dows and called or texted
duty free zone amid con- was too early to say if it be- collapse, blamed on de- explosion. warnings to each other.
tainers of tires, oil and other gan as "the result of heat or cades of mismanagement "We opened all windows Local TV stations said com-
flammable materials. some other mistake." and corruption by an en- and are in the corridor right panies with offices near the
Fabrizio Carboni, regional In a sign of the ever-widen- trenched political class. now," Awad said as they port asked employees to
director for the Interna- ing gulf of distrust after the Last month's blast is seen as sought safety in a hallway. leave the area. Some hid
tional Red Cross, tweeted explosion, many Lebanese the culmination of leaders "I am still feeling the earth in bathrooms, while others
that the warehouse on fire accused politicians of de- unable to to manage the shake. Living a flashback." dropped what they were
is where his organization liberately trying to destroy country's affairs or protect Jennifer Moorehead, Save doing and rushed home.q

EU force intercepts tanker with jet fuel headed to Libya

day it intercepted and re- — of sending weapons and Libya was plunged into
directed a tanker headed mercenaries to Libya in vio- chaos when a NATO-
for Libya after determining lation of the "totally ineffec- backed uprising in 2011
it was carrying jet fuel in tive" U.N. embargo. toppled longtime dictator
possible violation of the A statement from the EU Moammar Gadhafi, who
ban. mission said its inspec- was later killed. The county
The MV Royal Diamond tion aboard the Marshall has since split between rival
7 was en route Thursday Islands-flagged MV Royal east- and west-based ad-
from Sharjah, United Arab Diamond 7 determined the ministrations, each backed
Emirates, to Benghazi, Lib- cargo was jet fuel, which it by armed groups and for-
ya, when members of the said was "likely" to be used eign governments.q
EU force's Operation Irini for military purposes.
boarded the ship 150 kilo- The mission noted that jet
meters north of the Libyan fuel is considered military
city of Derna, the EU force material by the U.N., which
said. has authorized the EU force
Just this week, U.N. experts to seize weapons and halt
A boarding team board the Merchant Vessel Royal Diamond 7, accused the warring par- weapons-transporting ships
in international waters, 150 kilometers north of the Libyan city of ties in Libya and their inter- bound for Libya.
Derna, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. national backers — includ- The mission said it was re-
Associated Press
ing the UAE, Russia and Jor- directing the tanker to a
ROME (AP) — The European forcing the U.N. arms em- dan on one side, and Tur- European port for further
Union maritime force en- bargo on Libya said Thurs- key and Qatar on the other investigation.