Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab Approved the Government's Resignation After the Deadly Explosion

Lebanon's government resigned on Monday less than a week after a massive blast in Beirut, with the prime minister telling the nation in a televised address that the scale of the tragedy was "too great to describe."

The explosion of more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate at a warehouse in the Port of Beirut has killed at least 160, injured thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the capital.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who took office last December, was already under pressure for the lack of progress in resolving the country's dire financial and economic situation. Last week's huge explosion intensified accusations of corruption, incompetence, negligence against the political elite.  

In his address on Monday evening Diab spoke of "a system of corruption" that was rooted in the state.

"Rather, corruption is greater than the state, and it is not possible to confront this system or get rid of corruption."

He said that the blast was "one of the examples of corruption in Beirut" and that the scale of the tragedy was "too great to describe."

But he also appeared to shift the blame for his government's inability to resolve the many challenges facing the country, saying that others were responsible for the lack of progress and reform.

#WATCH: The moment #Lebanon PM #HassanDiab handed in the resignation of his government to President #MichelAounhttps://t.co/UI82eKQzHX pic.twitter.com/xcbOBkAe4D

— Arab News (@arabnews) August 10, 2020

"Between us and change, a very thick wall is protected by a class that resists with all dirty methods in order to control the state. We fought fiercely and with honor, but this battle has no equivalence."

Communications continued...

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