Lebanon’s cabinet has handed control of Beirut’s security to the military following Tuesday’s massive explosions that sent shockwaves across the city.
As of Wednesday evening, the death toll from the blasts stood at 135 people with over 4,000 injured and dozens still missing.
According to Governor Abboud, at least 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes by the devastating explosions.
The cause of the blast is being investigated, but Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, said the cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse for six years. President Michel Aoun tweeted it was “unacceptable” the explosives had been stored unsafely. Aoun declared three days of mourning and called for a two-week state of emergency.
Lebanon’s cabinet also agreed to place all port officials who oversaw storage and security since 2014 under house arrest, according to local media reports.
