Mikati refuses to interfere in Beirut blast probe

BEIRUT - Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government is keen not to interfere in any file related to the judiciary, according to a statement from his office on Saturday.

The statement came following a meeting with the justice minister and the head of the higher judicial council after seven people were killed in violence in Beirut on Thursday.

"The judicial authority must take whatever measures it deems appropriate," Mikati added.

Lebanese justice minister Henry Khoury also said on Saturday that Beirut blast probe judge Tarek Bitar has full authority in the case and has the right to summon whoever he wants, Al Jadeed television reported.

"I stand by the...investigator," Khoury was quoted as saying. The minister added said he did not have the authority to replace Bitar and that he faced no pressure to do so.

The statement of Mikati and Khoury came two days after a spasm of violence that erupted over the inquiry. Seven Shiite Muslims were killed as crowds were on their way to a protest against Judge Bitar in a demonstration called for by Hezbollah and its Shiite ally Amal.

Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said the investigation is biased and politicised.

Thursday's street violence was the worst in over a decade and stirred memories of the country's ruinous 1975-90 civil war.

Defence minister Maurice Selim said a stampede and a clash in Teyouneh led to gunfire by both sides, adding that the exchange of fire had preceded the sniper fire.

On Thursday, the army initially said rounds were fired on at protesters as they passed through the Teyouneh traffic circle dividing Christian and Shi'ite Muslim neighbourhoods. It then later said there had been an "altercation and exchange of fire" as protesters were on their way to the demonstration.

The investigation into the August 4, 2020 explosion, which killed more than 200 people and devastated swathes of Beirut, has made little headway following a smear campaign against Bitar and pushback from powerful political factions.

Lebanon's higher judicial council is meeting Bitar on Tuesday to hear his views on how the investigation is proceeding, judicial sources said.

Thursday's violence has added to concerns for the stability of a country that is awash with weapons and grappling with an economic meltdown.

Hezbollah blamed the Christian Lebanese Forces party for the deaths, an accusation the head of that party, Samir Geagea, denied.