French President Macron arrives in Beirut

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Beirut to express support for Lebanon in the wake of a massive explosion that tore through the capital earlier this week.

Iran Press/Middle East: After visiting the site of the blast in the port of Beirut, he met with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Aoun at the Lebanese Presidential Palace.

France and other countries have sent emergency aid and search-and-rescue teams.

But Lebanon, which was already reeling from an economic crisis, will need substantial international support to rebuild. 

Lebanese army bulldozers plowed through the wreckage to reopen roads around Beirut’s demolished port Thursday, a day after the government pledged to investigate this week’s devastating explosion and placed port officials under house arrest.

The blast Tuesday, which appeared to have been caused by an accidental fire that ignited a stockpile of ammonium nitrate at the port, rippled across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 135 people, injuring more than 5,000 and causing widespread destruction.

It also may have accelerated the country’s coronavirus outbreak, as thousands flooded into hospitals in the wake of the blast. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to move in with relatives and friends after their homes were damaged, further raising the risks of exposure.

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