Lebanon’s government expected to step down after Beirut explosion
Lebanon’s government is expected to step down today, less than a week after a huge explosion destroyed large parts of Beirut and killed more than 220 people and wounded more than 7,000.
Sources have told CNN that Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government will quit by tonight and will be reduced to caretaker status.
Diab is expected to resign, after he said on Saturday that he would call for fresh elections.
Three cabinet ministers and seven members of parliament have already quit in reaction to the blast.
The explosion, caused after an accidental fire lit 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port, has caused days of violent protests and civil unrest.
The stock of ammonium nitrate had been stored at the port for more than six years, with many Lebanese people blaming government incompetence or corruption for storing the explosive material at the port.
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The country was already suffering from a protracted financial crisis and soaring poverty, before the blast left 300,000 people homeless in the capital.
The country’s currency, the Lebanese pound, has crashed by 70 per cent since last October and the country is facing a liquidity crisis, which has led to limits on bank withdrawals for locals.
Diab came into power just eight months ago, after civil unrest brought down the previous administration.
He is backed by a wide range of parties and groups, including Hezbollah – a terrorist-designated organisation in the UK and the US.
On Saturday, Diab said: “We can’t exit the country’s structural crisis without holding early parliamentary elections.
“On Monday, I will propose to cabinet a draft bill for early parliamentary polls.”