UNIFIL reveals discovery of 4 tons of ammonium nitrate in southern Lebanon

- Ammonium nitrate, linked to the Beirut port explosion, resurfaces ahead of the sixth anniversary of the disaster

Days before the sixth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced the discovery of approximately 4,000 kilograms of ammonium nitrate compounds inside an abandoned building in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, UNIFIL said its explosive ordnance disposal teams discovered, on July 2, during a routine inspection of a road near the town of Hulwani, 385 abandoned containers inside a building containing roughly 4,000 kilograms of explosives, primarily composed of ammonium nitrate compounds.

It added that explosive ordnance disposal experts conducted a precise risk assessment before carrying out field operations to neutralize the materials and render them safe, thereby eliminating the threat they posed.

Ammonium nitrate is associated in the Lebanese collective memory with the devastating Beirut port explosion, which Lebanon will mark its sixth anniversary of next week.

On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion rocked the Beirut port after large quantities of ammonium nitrate stored in one of the warehouses ignited, killing more than 220 people, injuring thousands, and causing widespread destruction across the capital and its surroundings.