Daily Mail: 'It's crystal clear Hezbollah are in charge of the port and warehouse': Leading Lebanese politician blames terrorist group and 'corrupt' government for catastrophic explosion – as aerial images reveal blast even sank a cruise ship
* Bahaa Hariri, 54, has said everyone in the city knew that Hezbollah controlled Beirut's port and airport
* Blast has threatened to reignite anti-government protests in Lebanon that have been ongoing since last year
* At least 137 people have so far died, with some 5,000 wounded, 300,000 homeless, and widespread damage
* Investigators say 16 employees of Beirut's port have been detained and 18 questioned in total
A leading Lebanese opposition figure has blamed Hezbollah, along with the country's 'corrupt' government, for the devastating explosion in Beirut which capsized a cruise ship and has so far claimed 137 lives.
Bahaa Hariri, whose father, Prime Minister Rafiq, was assassinated in 2005, said last night everyone in the city knew Hezbollah controlled Beirut's port and airport and it was inconceivable that the authorities did not know the deadly ammonium nitrate was stored in a warehouse there.
Speaking for the first time Mr Hariri, 54, said: 'The question we have to ask is how come for six years this combustible material was allowed to remain in the middle of this city of two million people?'
'It is crystal clear Hezbollah are in charge of the Port and the Warehouse where the ammonium nitrate was stored.
'Nothing goes in and out of the Port or the Airport does so with them knowing. Nothing.
Read more ....
More News On Who To Blame For The Beirut Bombing Disaster
Lebanese officials deflect blame as anger grows over Beirut blast -- Al Jazeera
Lebanese investigators focus on negligence in Beirut blast -- France 24
The ship carrying the ammonium nitrate that blew up in Beirut was abandoned in 2014 by a Russian businessman, who has said nothing since the explosion -- Business Insider
What Caused the Beirut Explosion? What We Know -- New York Times
