Nuland later told an airport news conference that an impartial judiciary is the guarantor of all rights, in apparent criticism of Hezbollah. Her schedule was slightly thrown off by the action on the streets. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland was in town, meeting with Lebanese officials. The army also said protesters came under fire, but later in the evening said an “altercation and exchange of fire” occurred as the protesters were headed to the Justice Palace. Among the dead - all Shiites - were two Hezbollah members. In a statement Thursday, the two Shiite groups said their protesters came under fire from snipers deployed over rooftops. Videos circulating on social media Wednesday night showed supporters of the Christian Lebanese Forces marching in the streets, carrying large crosses.
The right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces mobilized supporters Wednesday evening after Hezbollah and Amal called for the protest at the Justice Palace, located on the former front line separating predominantly Muslim and Christian areas of Beirut. The calls for the judge’s removal upset many who considered it blatant interference in the work of the judiciary.
On Thursday, shortly before the planned protest, an appeals court turned down a request to remove Bitar from his post filed by two lawmakers who are defendants in the case, both of them allies of Hezbollah. His predecessor was removed following legal challenges. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and further devastated the country already beset with political divisions and financial woes.īitar is the second judge to lead the complicated investigation. The blast killed at least 215 people, injured thousands and destroyed parts of nearby neighborhoods. The probe centers on hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate that were improperly stored at a port warehouse that detonated on Aug. None of Hezbollah’s officials have so far been charged in the 14-month investigation. Officials from both Shiite parties, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, had attacked Bitar for days, accusing him of politicizing the investigation by charging and summoning some officials and not others. Tensions over the port blast have contributed to Lebanon’s many troubles, including a currency collapse, hyperinflation, soaring poverty and an energy crisis leading to extended electricity blackouts. Hezbollah and its allies accuse the judge of singling out politicians for questioning, most of them allied with Hezbollah. It was not clear who started the shooting, which began shortly after the start of the protest organized by the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its Shiite allies from the Amal Movement against Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the investigation into last year’s massive port explosion. The chaos raised the specter of a return to sectarian violence in a country already embroiled in multiple crises, including one of the world’s worst economic crises of the past 150 years.
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