Lebanese leaders ‘owe their people the truth’ about blast

Paris: Lebanon’s leaders "owe their people the truth" about the massive blast that claimed hundreds of lives in Beirut last year, French President Emmanuel Macron said on the anniversary of the disaster Wednesday.

"I think that Lebanese leaders... owe their people the truth and transparency," Macron said at the start of a UN-backed donor conference for Lebanon, which he is chairing over a video link-up with several world leaders.

The August 4, 2020, explosion in the Beirut port killed at least 214 people, traumatising the nation and bringing an already stuttering Lebanese economy closer to the brink of collapse. Macron aims to raise at least $350 million in emergency aid for the battered Lebanese population.

US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi and Lebanon’s own President Michel Aoun are among the participants from around 40 countries and organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, at the conference.

Fuel, medicine and food have all grown scarce in Lebanon as political parties bicker over the make-up of a new government, holding up a much-needed international bailout. Macron led the round of donor pledges Wednesday with a promise of close to 100 million euros ($118 million) in French aid and a donation of 500,000 Covid-19 vaccine shots.