A fire erupts at the Beirut port silos yesterday night. (Credit: Richard Salame/L'Orient Today)
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A fire continues to rage at the Beirut port silos since last night. The Lebanese Civil Defense said they can’t do anything about it because they’re “scared that if they douse it with water the silos would collapse.” There have been reports of fires and smoke from Beirut’s port for nearly a week. A heritage campaign to protect the damaged Beirut port silos has blamed the recent fires on the caretaker cabinet. Over the weekend, smoke was seen coming from the silos leading some to question if this was a covert demolition job. On Monday night, photos emerged of a fire burning at the silos, the second time since last Thursday. According to local media, the cause of the fire was linked to the fermentation of wheat that remains scattered in and around the silos. In a statement released yesterday, the campaign, which includes the families of the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion, said it “urges the government to react immediately and extinguish the fire and deal with its causes.” They also called out the suspicious nature of the fires. As of yesterday, smoke could still be seen by onlookers and local residents as well as a distinctive burning smell flooding the area. The Lebanese government has repeatedly issued demolition orders and then quickly backtracked on them repeatedly, against the Beirut silos activists’ claim that this is an attempt to cover-up the travesty caused almost two years ago. As of Monday, both the transport minister and the head of the Beirut port denied any report of a demolition. This is not the first time the port is on fire, with an enormous blaze taking up a large part of the port on Sept. 10, 2020, just over one month after the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion.
Two people were injured yesterday at a Tripoli bakery over a fight that broke out over the shortage of bread. The incident occurred at the Ridani bakery in al-Beddawi, over who gets bread first, after gunshots injured innocent bystanders. Security forces were quick to intervene to deescalate the squabble. Last Friday Economy Minister Amin Salam held a press conference where he blamed the private sector for the shortages, saying, “Some bakeries and some merchants personally benefit from the subsidized wheat.” Amid all of this, a black market for bread bundles has emerged with some selling at LL30,000, twice the regulated price. Bakeries have blamed Banque du Liban for failing to pay for wheat import shipments. Currently, only wheat being used to make Arabic bread continues to be subsidized; wheat for other uses, such as cakes or croissants, is not. A $150 million World Bank emergency loan to fund wheat imports, which was approved in May, has yet to be activated because it still awaits ratification from the new Parliament.
Several fires have broken out this week. A fire was put out after it raged in the Metn town of Roumieh for nearly two days. A Civil Defence spokesperson told L’Orient Today yesterday that they had been trying to contain the blaze and have asked for reinforcements. Other fires in Chouf, near Damour, Aley and Tyre broke out yesterday and have been brought under control. Caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassine had warned on Friday that there was a huge risk of fire amid a dry season. He added that he was monitoring the situation with the Defense Ministry and the Civil Defense forces.
The bidding process is set to open for Beirut’s Rafic Hariri Airport’s duty free zone. The announcement came yesterday from Transport Minister Ali Hamieh who asked potential bidders to contact the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The contract was previously held by a partnership between Phoenicia Group and Aer Rianta International for 74 million dollars a year. The Phoenicia Group is owned by Mohamed Zeidan, the father-in-law of Zgharta MP Tony Frangieh.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: "The enigma of the four Iranian diplomats who disappeared in Lebanon in 1982."