Relatives of Ibrahim Harb, 35, who was critically injured in the massive explosion at Beirut's port last year and died on Monday nearly 14 months after the blast, mourn during his funeral procession in Beirut, Lebanon. Photo: AP
Relatives of Ibrahim Harb, 35, who was critically injured in the massive explosion at Beirut's port last year and died on Monday nearly 14 months after the blast, mourn during his funeral procession in Beirut, Lebanon. Photo: AP
Relatives of Ibrahim Harb, 35, who was critically injured in the massive explosion at Beirut's port last year and died on Monday nearly 14 months after the blast, mourn during his funeral procession in Beirut, Lebanon. Photo: AP
Relatives of Ibrahim Harb, 35, who was critically injured in the massive explosion at Beirut's port last year and died on Monday nearly 14 months after the blast, mourn during his funeral procession i

MENA

Lebanon

Beirut port blast claims another victim, 13 months later

Accountant Ibrahim Harb suffered a serious head wound in the explosion

Gareth Browne
Gareth Browne
Beirut

September 28, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

A man injured in the Beirut port explosion has succumbed to injuries 13 months after the explosion.

Ibrahim Harb, 35, suffered serious head injuries after 2,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded at the port in August last year, leaving him in a coma for three months.

He then spent almost a year at a rehabilitation centre, drifting in and out of consciousness until his family moved him home last week.

He was there for three days before dying on Monday night.

Mr Harb was laid to rest in Beirut on Tuesday, in an emotional funeral. His death raised the number of people killed in the port explosion to at least 215.

On August 4, 2020, hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilisers, ignited after a massive fire at the Beirut Port. AP
On August 4, 2020, hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilisers, ignited after a massive fire at the Beirut Port. AP

“May God punish whoever was behind it. What else can we say?” his brother Mazen told AP.

Mr Harb, an accountant, had been working at his office in downtown Beirut when the blast happened. He leaves behind a fiance.

Ahmad Mroue, who runs the Lebanese NGO Maan, which works with victims of the blast, said that the death coming on the same day as the suspension of the port blast investigation only underlined the unwillingness of Lebanon's political class to see justice served.

“It’s really sad that we lost another person. Unfortunately, the politicians in this country count them only as numbers, they don’t look at them as human beings. They deserve justice,” he said.

“What happened yesterday, just before Ibrahim died was really sad because again we see how politicians are treating the investigation and the judge – the main thing they are doing now is blocking justice.”

The port blast was suspended for a second time after a former minister lodged a complaint, questioning the lead judge’s impartiality.

Members of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces lay flowers in front of a memorial to the victims of the explosion in Beirut's port last year.
Members of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces lay flowers in front of a memorial to the victims of the explosion in Beirut's port last year.
Portraits of victims of last year's Beirut port blast.
Portraits of victims of last year's Beirut port blast.
A man, right, hangs a giant Lebanese flag on a building that was damaged in last year's blast.
A man, right, hangs a giant Lebanese flag on a building that was damaged in last year's blast.
France's President Emmanuel Macron remotely attends a Lebanon donors' conference one year after the Beirut port blast.
France's President Emmanuel Macron remotely attends a Lebanon donors' conference one year after the Beirut port blast.
Police hold flowers to mark the anniversary of Beirut's 2020 port blast on August 5.
Police hold flowers to mark the anniversary of Beirut's 2020 port blast on August 5.
Police hold flowers to mark the anniversary of Beirut's massive 2020 port blast.
Police hold flowers to mark the anniversary of Beirut's massive 2020 port blast.
Police hold flowers to mark the anniversary of the Beirut port explosion.
Police hold flowers to mark the anniversary of the Beirut port explosion.
Banners reading 'Here starts your end and our beginning' and 'Hostages of a murderous state' hang on a building damaged in last August's port blast, as Lebanon marks a year since a the cataclysmic explosion devastated Lebanon's capital.
Banners reading 'Here starts your end and our beginning' and 'Hostages of a murderous state' hang on a building damaged in last August's port blast, as Lebanon marks a year since a the cataclysmic explosion devastated Lebanon's capital.
A gavel monument symbolising justice can be seen in front of the damaged grain silos at Beirut port, as Lebanon marks a year since an explosion ravaged the country's capital.
A gavel monument symbolising justice can be seen in front of the damaged grain silos at Beirut port, as Lebanon marks a year since an explosion ravaged the country's capital.
Supporters of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement release white balloons to mark one year since the huge explosion in Beirut's port. At least 200 people were killed, and more than 6,000 injured in the blast on August 4, 2020.
Supporters of Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement release white balloons to mark one year since the huge explosion in Beirut's port. At least 200 people were killed, and more than 6,000 injured in the blast on August 4, 2020.
Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement release paper lanterns to mark one year since a huge explosion in Beirut's port.
Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement release paper lanterns to mark one year since a huge explosion in Beirut's port.
A man in a wheelchair flies a Lebanese flag during a protest demanding justice for the victims of last year's Beirut port blast.
A man in a wheelchair flies a Lebanese flag during a protest demanding justice for the victims of last year's Beirut port blast.
Demonstrators gather outside Beirut port on the anniversary of the blast that ravaged the city last August. Hundreds of Lebanese marched on August 4 to mark the explosion, protesting against impunity over the country's worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters.
Demonstrators gather outside Beirut port on the anniversary of the blast that ravaged the city last August. Hundreds of Lebanese marched on August 4 to mark the explosion, protesting against impunity over the country's worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters.
Relatives of Beirut port blast victims arrive for a remembrance ceremony at the site of the explosion on the first anniversary of the disaster.
Relatives of Beirut port blast victims arrive for a remembrance ceremony at the site of the explosion on the first anniversary of the disaster.
Relatives of Beirut port blast victims arrive for a remembrance ceremony at the site of the explosion on the first anniversary of the disaster.
Relatives of Beirut port blast victims arrive for a remembrance ceremony at the site of the explosion on the first anniversary of the disaster.
Demonstrators gather by the statue of 'The Lebanese Emigrant' near Beirut port on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city.
Demonstrators gather by the statue of 'The Lebanese Emigrant' near Beirut port on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city.
A demonstrator marches with a sign showing one of the young victims of the 2020 Beirut blast.
A demonstrator marches with a sign showing one of the young victims of the 2020 Beirut blast.
People carry flags and banners as they march to mark the anniversary of Beirut's port blast.
People carry flags and banners as they march to mark the anniversary of Beirut's port blast.
Priests pray near the remains of Beirut port on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city.
Priests pray near the remains of Beirut port on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city.
Demonstrators in Lebanon's capital march past a statue symbolising "Beirut rising from destruction" on their way towards the port on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the city.
Demonstrators in Lebanon's capital march past a statue symbolising "Beirut rising from destruction" on their way towards the port on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the city.
France's President Emmanuel Macron talks to his Lebanese counterpart Michel Aoun during a remote international conference to raise aid for the country. France has pledged about €100 million ($118.3m) in emergency aid as well as 500,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses for Lebanon.
France's President Emmanuel Macron talks to his Lebanese counterpart Michel Aoun during a remote international conference to raise aid for the country. France has pledged about €100 million ($118.3m) in emergency aid as well as 500,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses for Lebanon.
Nuns pray during a mass organised at the Beirut port with the relatives of last year's blast victims.
Nuns pray during a mass organised at the Beirut port with the relatives of last year's blast victims.
A priest comforts the relative of a blast victim at a Mass organised in Beirut.
A priest comforts the relative of a blast victim at a Mass organised in Beirut.
Families and relatives of people killed in the blast carried portraits of their loved ones to the commemoration Mass in Beirut.
Families and relatives of people killed in the blast carried portraits of their loved ones to the commemoration Mass in Beirut.
Families and relatives of victims of the explosion at Beirut port attend a Mass held to commemorate the anniversary.
Families and relatives of victims of the explosion at Beirut port attend a Mass held to commemorate the anniversary.
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai arrives to lead a Mass in memory of people who died in the explosion.
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai arrives to lead a Mass in memory of people who died in the explosion.
Relatives of people who died in the 2020 Beirut blast attend a Maronite Christian Mass at the city’s port.
Relatives of people who died in the 2020 Beirut blast attend a Maronite Christian Mass at the city’s port.
A relative of a victim of the blast weeps as she attends the Mass.
A relative of a victim of the blast weeps as she attends the Mass.
A fire engine carrying portraits of blast victims is driven during a remembrance ceremony at the port of Lebanon’s capital.
A fire engine carrying portraits of blast victims is driven during a remembrance ceremony at the port of Lebanon’s capital.
Relatives of the Beirut port blast victims arrive for a remembrance ceremony at the Lebanese capital’s port.
Relatives of the Beirut port blast victims arrive for a remembrance ceremony at the Lebanese capital’s port.

Nouhad Machnouq, a former interior minister, filed the complaint on Monday, saying that Tarek Bitar, who is heading the investigating, was acting beyond his remit.

Mr Machnouq, who is one of four former ministers facing questioning in relation to the blast, requested the removal of Mr Bitar, prompting the investigation's freezing.

The suspension prompted outrage among families of the blast’s victims, yet lawyers of Maj Gen Abbas Ibrahim, the head of the influential General Security agency, accused Mr Bitar of populism in running the investigation.

“It is unfortunate that Judge Bitar experienced the disappointments of the legal breaches that he reaped during his populist management of the port explosion file,” he said in a statement.

He accused Mr Bitar of acting to “dilute the truth and underline it with fictitious heroics”.

The investigation has been beset by delays and complaints, with high-profile figures repeatedly refusing to show up when summoned for questioning.

Earlier this month, former prime minister Hassan Diab left the country to visit family in the US, missing his scheduled questioning.

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  • £250m to train new AI models
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  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: September 28, 2021, 2:33 PM
Beirut explosionLebanon