The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr Hassan Diab has stepped down on Monday amid anger within and outside his government over the deadly Beirut port explosion.
Diab had blamed the explosion on the incompetence and corruption of a decades-old ruling class.
“Today we are heeding the people and their demands to hold accountable those responsible for a disaster,” he said in a televised address, blaming a “corrupt” political class that has ruled Lebanon for more than 30 years for the August 4 explosion.
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“This is why today I announce the resignation of the government.”
His resignation came after last Tuesday’s deadly warehouse explosion — caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port — believed to have killed at least 200 people as at Monday. Also, thousands have been wounded and it has left many homeless, destroying a portion of the city.
Diab, a 61-year-old professor and former minister of education, has only been in the role since January. When he took over, Diab faced many of the same challenges that forced his predecessor, Saad Hariri, to resign. Even before the recent disaster, Lebanon was seeing widespread and persistent protests over allegations of political corruption, and frustration with a deepening economic crisis.
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