Activists mourn, demand justice on two year Beirut blast anniversary

People around the world are mourning the two-year anniversary of the devastating Beirut port blast that shook the Lebanese capital city on 4 August 2020.

Many social media users lamented the terrible losses suffered on the "bloody day" while accusing Lebanese authorities - who some labelled a "barbaric mafia" - of planting "a dagger in the heart of Lebanon".

They demanded justice which has still not been achieved.

The tragic event killed over 220 people and injured 7,000 as 2,750 tonnes of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut’s port after catching fire.

Relatives of victims have pressed for justice and accountability for two years but a local investigation has been paused since December due to political pressure.

"The authorities are responsible unless they reveal who caused this tragedy… [the blast left] a deep wound that will continue to bleed until justice is achieved," Twitter user Haneen Al-Ahmad wrote.

٤_آب في هذا اليوم الدموي غرست السلطة الفاسدة في قلب لبنان وأهله خنجر ترك جرح غائر سيبقى ينزف حتى تحقق العدالة وتكشف السلطة لشعب اللبناني هوية من يقف وراء تدمير عاصمة كاملة وقطع شريان حيوي لوطن وتدمير مستقبل شعب
السلطة هي المسؤولة ما لم تكشف من تسبب هذه المأساة #مرفأ_بيروت

— Haneen AL_ Ahmad (@HaneenA56173511) August 4, 2022

"Today thinking of all those who woke up in #Beirut two years ago, before their lives were torn apart by the blast. Insurmountable suffering and still no justice," journalist Rosie Scammell wrote.

🇱🇧 Today thinking of all those who woke up in #Beirut two years ago, before their lives were torn apart by the blast. Insurmountable suffering and still no justice.

— ℝ𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕖 𝕊𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕝 (@rosiescammell) August 4, 2022

"I have been burying the feeling of heaviness associated with this day, so deep inside me. We still have no answers… My (our) safety & security have been compromised so many times ever since. We must know who was trying to wipe out Beirut," economist Hussein Cheaito said.

I have been burying the feeling of heaviness associated with this day, so deep inside me. We still have no answers, two years following the Beirut blast. My (our) safety & security have been compromised so many times ever since. We must know who was trying to wipe out Beirut.

— Hussein Cheaito | حسين شعيتو 🏳️‍🌈 (@husseinch96) August 4, 2022

"Time stopped two years ago. Nothing ever felt the same since the Beirut blast. We all had to come to terms with the people we’ve become, with the parts of us that died on August 4, 2020," Beirut-based reporter Nader Durgham wrote.

Time stopped two years ago.

Nothing ever felt the same since the Beirut blast. We all had to come to terms with the people we’ve become, with the parts of us that died on August 4, 2020.

It hurts to think that this never should have happened. Never.

— Nader Durgham | نادر درغام (@NaderDurgham) August 4, 2022

Ahead of the anniversary, Pope Francis on Wednesday remarked that the truth "can never be hidden" and said he was praying for the families of the victims "of that disastrous event and the dear Lebanese people".

UN experts and NGOs also urged for an international investigation into the blast on Wednesday.