Optimism in Lebanon over Resumption of Investigations into Beirut Port Explosion

Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)
Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Optimism in Lebanon over Resumption of Investigations into Beirut Port Explosion

Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)
Aftermath of the blast at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, on August 5, 2020. (Getty Images/AFP)

Acting Cassation Public Prosecutor Judge Jamal Al-Hajjar is expected to discuss with Judge Tariq Bitar the resumption of the investigations into the 2020 Beirut Port blast, which have been halted for more than two years.

Visitors who met with Hajjar, who recently assumed his duties, reported that the judge has “a vision for resolving the legal obstacles that are hindering the work of the judicial investigator.”

Cooperation between the judicial investigator and the Cassation Public Prosecution had stopped since the beginning of February 2023, against the backdrop of the legal jurisprudence issued by Bitar, in which he stated that the judicial investigator “appointed to investigate a crime affecting state security cannot be dismissed.”

Following this decision, Bitar announced the resumption of his investigations, and issued a list of the names of other defendants, including former Cassation Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat, and Cassation Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Al-Khoury, and set dates for their interrogation.

Oweidat quickly gave instructions to the judges and wrote to the Cassation Prosecutor’s office to stop dealing with Bitar permanently, and refrain from receiving any documents from him or carrying out his memos.

On Wednesday, Hajjar met with a delegation of the families of the victims of the port explosion, who expressed their fears of “attempts to silence the truth,” stressing that they were counting on his courage and how he ignores political pressure.

Sources who attended the meeting said the prosecutor promised the families of the victims that it is unacceptable for him to be the head of the Discriminatory Public Prosecution while the investigation remains frozen.

The sources added that Hajjar asked his visitors to be patient and trust his belief in their cause.

Hajjar met with Bitar days after he was appointed head of the Cassation Public Prosecution and assumed his duties. Informed sources said the meeting, which lasted over an hour, was “very positive”, signaling a new phase of cooperation between the general prosecution and judicial investigator.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.