Third Lebanese Justice Minister Resigns over Beirut Bomb Scandal

Lebanon’s justice minister has resigned from the government, blaming the deadly explosion at the port of Beirut.

Marie Claude Najm is the third minister to have resigned in the wake of the devastating blast in the Lebanese capital last Tuesday, which killed more than 160 people and injured more than 6,000 others. Her announcement on today follows the resignation of Kattar Demianos, the country’s environment minister who is a close confidant of prime minister Hassan Diab.

Lebanese police fired tear gas to try to disperse rock-throwing protesters blocking a road near Parliament in Beirut on Sunday in the second day of anti-government demonstrations triggered by last week’s devastating explosion. A Cabinet meeting is scheduled for Monday, amid reports that the whole government might resign. If a total of seven ministers resign, the Cabinet would effectively become a caretaker government.

The explosion, along with a severe economic crisis, has been widely blamed on decades of corruption and misrule by Lebanon’s entrenched political class. The blast on Tuesday killed more than 160 people and wounded more than 6,000. It caused widespread devastation across the capital and obliterated the port. It appears to have been caused by a fire that ignited a stockpile of explosive material stored at the port since 2013. A full investigation has been launched into the cause of the explosion.