Lebanon government gives committee four days to investigate Beirut blasts, Macron arrives in Beirut

Lebanon government today gave investigators four days to fix responsibility for the devastating blasts which rocked Beirut on Tuesday.
 

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"A decision was taken to create an investigative committee which in four days maximum must provide a detailed report on responsibility - how, who, what, where? There will be judicial decisions," the country's foreign minister Charbel Wehbe said.

See Pics: Satellite images capture Beirut before vs after devastating blast

"Those responsible for this horrible crime of negligence will be punished by a committee of judges," the minister added. Meanwhile, the death toll due to the explosions rose to 137 on Thursday as rescue operations continued.

Authorities had said on Wednesday that at least 300,000 were left homeless due to the blasts with estimated damage to property worth $3 billion to $5 billion.

Amid the tragedy, Human Rights Watch today called for an "independent investigation with international experts" even as French authorities opened a probe on the blasts as French nationals suffered injuries.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beirut on Thursday to review the situation. 

After arriving Macron said Lebanon will "continue to sink" without reforms.

"I want to organise European cooperation and, more broadly, international cooperation," the French president said.