BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday approved a state of emergency while citing exceptional circumstances in the country after a massive explosion in Beirut on August 4.
The parliament has voted for the emergency declaration eight days in, as is legally required, though it could have also voted it down. Earlier, the Lebanon cabinet had declared a two-week state of emergency on August 5, the day after the Beirut blast that left at least 200 dead and some 6,000 injured.
The Lebanon army has been granted sweeping powers which allow the security forces to enter homes and arrest anyone deemed as a security threat, whereas, judicial proceedings are to take place in the country’s military courts.
The state of emergency is set to run until August 21 but it can be renewed, Al-Jazeera reported.
Moreover, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament approved resignations of eight lawmakers.
Earlier on August 10, Lebanon’s prime minister had announced his government’s resignation on Monday, saying a huge explosion that devastated the capital and stirred public outrage was the result of endemic corruption.
Read: Lebanon’s leaders warned in July about explosives at Beirut port
Diab had made the announcement after the cabinet met on Monday, with many ministers wanting to resign, according to ministerial and political sources.
Lebanon’s president had previously said explosive material was stored unsafely for years at the port. He later said the investigation would consider whether the cause was external interference as well as negligence or an accident.
The cabinet decided to refer the investigation of the blast to the judicial council, the highest legal authority whose rulings cannot be appealed, a ministerial source and state news agency NNA said. The council usually handles top security cases.
