Lebanon mourns blast victims after three years with no accountability

A woman walks along a curb stained in red paint, mimicking blood, as Lebanon marks a national day of mourning for the third anniversary of the August 2020 Beirut port blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 4, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon on Friday mourned those killed in the port blast that devastated Beirut three years ago as religious leaders and rights groups decried the lack of accountability among political leaders who stymied the official investigation.

The explosion killed at least 220 people and wounded thousands more when hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse detonated just after 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Aug. 4, 2020, sending a huge cloud over the city.