Some officials saw risk of Beirut blast, did not act - HRW report

FILE PHOTO: Drone view of "The Gesture", a 25- meter sculpture by Lebanese architect Nadim Karam to commemorate victims of last year's Beirut blast, at the capital's port in Lebanon, August 2, 2021. REUTERS/Imad Creidi/File Photo

BEIRUT (Reuters) -A report released by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday concluded there was strong evidence to suggest some Lebanese officials knew about and tacitly accepted the lethal risks posed by ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut port before the fatal blast there on Aug. 4 last year.

HRW called for a U.N. investigation into the explosion, which was caused by the chemicals stored unsafely at the port for years and killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed swathes of Lebanon's capital.