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Fact check

Is it true: Beirut port ammonium nitrate explosion cover-up (4 Aug 2020)?

Confirmed5% confidence

Yes — this is confirmed.

Lebanese customs chief Badri Daher sent six letters warning of the ammonium nitrate danger between 2014 and 2018 — all went unanswered. A State Security written report dated 20 July 2020 explicitly warned President Aoun and PM Diab of the risk 15 days before the explosion. Two successive judicial investigations — by military judge Fadi Sawan and civilian judge Tarek Bitar — were obstructed by political figures linked to Hezbollah and Amal. No senior official has been convicted. The cover-up concerns accountability, not causation: the cause is known.

The claim

On 4 August 2020, approximately 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Hangar 12 of the Port of Beirut detonated, killing 218 people and injuring more than 7,000. The material had been impounded f

Key evidence

State Security report of 20 July 2020 warned president and PM — no action taken

Investigation obstruction is documented but some delays reflect Lebanese institutional dysfunction

Read the full evidence file

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