Lebanon marked the fifth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion on 4 August with a national day of mourning, renewed promises of accountability and rallies by victims’ families. President Joseph Aoun said the state is “committed to uncovering the whole truth” and vowed that the law will be applied “to all, without exception.” Prime Minister Nawaf Salam echoed the pledge, insisting there would be “no settlement at the expense of justice.” The 2020 blast—one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded—killed more than 220 people, injured some 6,500 and devastated large sections of the capital after a fire ignited tonnes of improperly stored ammonium nitrate. Five years on, no official has been convicted and the inquiry remains stalled by political challenges. Investigating judge Tarek Bitar, who resumed work earlier this year after a two-year halt, has completed witness examinations and is awaiting responses to requests for information from several Arab and European states before drafting an indictment, according to judicial officials. Human-rights groups warn that continued political interference threatens to derail the process. Foreign missions, including the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, called for an independent judiciary capable of providing redress to victims, while rights organisations urged authorities to accelerate the probe. The government said the port’s battered wheat silos, long demanded as a memorial by families, will be placed on the country’s heritage list.