BEIRUT (AP) – The former Lebanese army chief told the chief investigator of the massive explosion in the port of Beirut on Thursday that he had recommended, years before the explosion, that tons of seized ammonium nitrate stored there be sold privately or sent back to importers.
The military had no use for the volatile chemical, testified Jean Kahwaji, who was head of the army until 2017.
Kahwaji was called in for questioning as a witness six months after the investigation began, the first army officer and the most senior security officer to testify in the investigation.
He told the chief investigator that customs asked the army in late 2015 if he was interested in the stored fertilizer, which could also be used as an explosive. The Army, after conducting tests, said there was no use for ammonium nitrate because it was a large amount and “it has limited use and because it dissolves over time, it is a danger if stored for a long time,” said Kahwaji.
Kahwaji said the army had neither the space to store it nor the ability to get rid of it. He added that the army asked the customs authority to either sell it to a private explosives company in Lebanon or re-export to the country of origin at the expense of importers.
According to a local media investigation, importers carried out their own tests on the nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, months after it was stored at the port, and withdrew any complaints about the shipment. The chemicals ended up in the warehouse for six years before detonating. What caused the explosion remains unknown.
The volatile fertilizer caught fire on August 4, causing one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history, disfiguring Beirut and killing 211 people. More than 6,000 were injured in the blast.
The shipment entered the port of Beirut in 2013 due to technical problems with the ship. Then it was seized and stored in a warehouse in the port since 2014.
After the explosion, it was revealed that many of Lebanon’s political and security officials were aware of the stored ammonium nitrate, and many of them had warned in internal communication about the dangers of keeping it in port in dangerous conditions.
The army command, when Kahwaji was in charge, was one of the entities that exchanged correspondence with customs about what to do with ammonium nitrate.
In April 2016, the army sent a letter to the Customs Authority with its recommendation.
On Thursday, Kahwaji told chief investigator Judge Fadi Sawwan that “the army has fulfilled and continues to fulfill its obligations under the law”. His statement, as reported by his lawyer, was released by the National News Agency.
In December, Sawwan filed charges against interim Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers, accusing them of negligence that led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
The charges sparked a backlash and the former ministers challenged the judge’s authority in court, interrupting the investigation. But the country’s highest court asked Sawwan to resume his work.
Kahwaji’s interrogation signaled the resumption of the investigation and is likely to calm public concerns that the investigation has been derailed, given Lebanon’s culture of impunity and political interference in judicial matters.
Almost 30 people, most of them port and customs officials, have been arrested since the explosion.