Beirut: Lebanon President Michel Aoun accepted Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s resignation and asked the government to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet was formed.
Tensions have been boiling over in the country following the massive explosion at Beirut’s port that killed some 200 people and wounded 6,000 others, according to the latest tally.
Diab announced his cabinet’s resignation Monday, responding to outrage over a catastrophic explosion in Beirut.
“Today I announce the resignation of this government,” Diab said in a national TV address. “May God protect Lebanon.”
Diab’s speech was published by the National News Agency in Lebanon, the state-run media outlet.
His resignation came after last Tuesday’s deadly warehouse explosion — caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port — that killed at least 160 people, wounded thousands and left many homeless, destroying a portion of the city.