“Lebanon’s prime minister stepped down from his job Monday in the wake of the catastrophic explosion in Beirut that has triggered public outrage.” (AP News)

“Residents of Beirut vented their fury at Lebanon’s leaders [last] Thursday during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, blaming them for the deadly explosion that ravaged the capital.” (AP News)

Both sides condemn the Lebanese government and urge the international community to push for reforms:

“With Lebanon’s debt greater than 170% of its GDP, and with the port explosion costing an estimated $15bn of damage, Lebanon needs foreign assistance to prevent it becoming a failed state. But what it needs even more desperately are reforms that would counter the corruption and lack of accountability that led it to this sorry state of affairs in the first place. It is Lebanon’s existing political system – a power-sharing pact between different sects rather than a system of governance on the basis of competence – that facilitates its leaders’ reckless behaviour…

“The international community is partly responsible for sustaining this system through cascading patronage. For decades, Lebanese leaders grew accustomed to neglecting the national interest and eventually being bailed out by international assistance…The port explosion needs to be a wake-up call for any international entity seeking a stable Lebanon… No long-term assistance should flow into Lebanon without strong conditions on transparency and accountability in how this assistance would be employed.” (Lina Khatib, The Guardian)

“The best thing the United States and broader international community can do right now is ensure accountability as Lebanon picks up the pieces and rebuilds. There should be judicial accountability not only for authorities in the port who may have been negligent but also for the political leaders who turned a deaf ear to warning about tons of ammonium nitrate stored within a stone’s throw to the heart of the city. There should also be accountability and transparency to ensure that groups like Hezbollah responsible for so many ills in Lebanese society today do not enrich themselves off the construction contracts that will flow into the city, and that elite politicians and power brokers do not likewise siphon off funds as they so often have in the past.” (Michael Rubin, Washington Examiner)