In pictures: Lebanon's capital in ruins after Beirut port explosion
A picture shows the aftermath of a blast that tore through Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on August 5, 2020. AFP - STR
Residents of the Lebanese capital have been conducting their daily lives amid apocalyptic scenes since a massive explosion at Beirut’s port tore through the city on Tuesday.
The blast on August 4 – blamed on an unsecured store of ammonium nitrate at the Beirut port – devastated entire neighbourhoods, killed more than 100 people and left up to 300,000 without homes.
It was the latest blow to a country already reeling from political, health and economic crises.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Lebanon on Thursday, the first world leader in Beirut after the port blast that wreaked destruction across the capital, and called for the government to enact urgent reforms.
Public anger is mounting against the country's political class, which many see as bearing responsibility for the chronic mismanagement and carelessness that led to the disaster. The port of Beirut and customs office is notorious for being one of the most corrupt and lucrative institutions in Lebanon where various factions and politicians, including Hezbollah, hold sway.
Many nations have offered Lebanon aid – including France, which has long historic ties to the country and is sending urgent disaster aid. The EU will send 100 specialised firefighters to help deal with the devastation, and is ready to send additional aid as needed.
An aerial view shows the massive damage done to Beirut port's grain silos (C) and the area around it on August 5, 2020, one day after a mega-blast tore through the harbour in the heart of the Lebanese capital with the force of an earthquake, killing more than 100 people and injuring over 4,000. - Rescuers searched for survivors in Beirut in the morning after a cataclysmic explosion at the port sowed devastation across entire neighbourhoods, killing more than 100 people, wounding thousands and plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis. (Photo by - / AFP)AFP - -
A man inspects the damage of the blast that tore through Lebanon's capital.AFP - ANWAR AMRO
An injured man sits next to a restaurant in the trendy partially destroyed Beirut neighbourhood of Mar Mikhael on the day after the explosion.AFP - PATRICK BAZ
The interior of a church is pictured in the aftermath of the Beirut blast.AFP - ANWAR AMRO
People inspect the damage in the aftermath of the blast that tore through Lebanon's capital.AFP - ANWAR AMRO
A man rides on a motorbike near rubble from damaged buildings following Tuesday's blast.REUTERS - AZIZ TAHER
Scenes of destruction close to the blast at Beirut port.AFP - JOSEPH EID
Further scenes of destruction in Beirut, alongside the blue of the Mediterranean Sea.- AFP
A shattered window provides a vantage point for the aftermath of the explosion.AFP - ANWAR AMRO
A picture shows destruction inside the Saint George Maronite Church on August 5, 2020 in the aftermath of the explosion.AFP - JOSEPH EID
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