Six days after the enormous chemical blast, which wreaked destruction across swathes of the capital and was felt as far away as the island of Cyprus, residents and volunteers were still clearing the debris off the streets.
The country's top officials have promised a swift and thorough investigation - but they have stopped short of agreeing to an independent probe led by foreign experts.Environment Minister Damianos Kattar criticised the"sterile regime" when he announced his resignation on Sunday, hours after Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad became the first to quit.
But it remained to be seen whether the disaster will also have a lasting impact on Lebanon's political landscape, whose masters were widely seen as being primarily bent on self-preservation and buck-passing. During a second evening of protests on Sunday, the rage sparked by the explosion that disfigured Beirut and scarred so many of its residents had not relented, and violent street clashes flared again.
"We need an international investigation and trial to tell us who killed our friends and all the other victims, because they might try to conceal the truth," said Michelle.French President Emmanuel Macron supported the idea when he visited last Thursday, but his calls for reform and transparency appeared to receive less attention among Lebanese officialdom than his offer to raise aid money.
Many Lebanese are sceptically waiting to see how the aid delivery will navigate a sophisticated and deeply entrenched system of local and sectarian patronage organised by the country's party barons.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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