Michel Aoun, the Lebanese President, said in a statement today that the explosion in Beirut was either negligence or “external intervention” in the form of a bomb. The port has stored 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate since 2013 and this may have been the source of the enormous blast. Aiun said that he had been informed of this enormous stockpile of ammonium nitrate on July 20th and had ordered military and security officials to “do what is necessary,” but it was not clarified what that entailed. The explosion has reportedly displaced 12% of the Beirut population.
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Group forms to help animals lost or injured in Beirut explosion
Couple that lived next to port captured the explosion on camera