Lebanese Information Minister, Manal Abdelsammad announced her resignation from the government on Sunday (August 9) following last week’s explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut, which killed 158 people and injured more than 6,000.
The minister said she was responding to the people’s calls for change following mass protests that erupted after Tuesday’s port explosion.
The protesters demanded their politicians resign and be punished for negligence they say led to the blast, compounding months of political and economic meltdown.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday an investigation would examine whether the blast was caused by a bomb or other external interference.
He said the investigation would also weigh if it was due to negligence or an accident.
Twenty people had been detained so far, he added.
Officials have said the blast could have caused losses amounting to $15 billion. That is a bill that Lebanon cannot pay after already defaulting on a mountain of debt – exceeding 150 percent of economic output – and with talks stalled on an IMF lifeline.
