Protesters in Beirut Turn Post-blast Shock into Fury

One security officer was killed and hundreds of people were reported injured late Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday as people in Beirut took to the streets to vent their fury over Tuesday’s port explosion. The massive blast, in which the death toll has surpassed 150, with scores more still believed missing, leveled or gutted adjacent neighborhoods and displaced an estimated 300,000 of the city’s residents. It is believed to have been caused by thousands of tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port after being confiscated from an abandoned cargo ship several years ago. News reports say 19 people have been arrested or placed under house arrest for suspected negligence, many of them top port officials. The largest protest on Saturday night was in Beirut’s Martyr’s Square, where as many as 10,000 people are said to have congregated, although altercations with police and security officers rolled through nearby streets as the evening wore on. Prime Minister Hassan Diab has floated the idea of new parliamentary elections for a country already roiling from unrest over a shattered economy, perceptions of widespread corruption and pervasive sectarianism that often paralyzes public services due to conflicts over the awarding of government contracts, both national and local.