Lebanon's Hezbollah said Friday it is raising charges against a former Christian lawmaker and a website affiliated with a Christian political party for defamation, after they blamed the Shiite militant group of being responsible for the huge explosion at Beirut's port this summer.
The Party's legal representative Ibrahim Mussawi said the accusations aimed by Fares Souaid and the website of the right-wing Lebanese Forces party were false.
Mussawi, also told a press conference outside the courts house that blaming the group threatens to disrupt peace in Lebanon, at a time when the United States is exerting maximum pressure on his party and its allies, as it considers them a terrorist organization.
The massive Aug. 4 blast was caused by nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrates, a fertilizer that was improperly stored at a port warehouse for six years.
The blast killed more than 200 people and wounded over 6,000, and extensively damaged several neighborhoods in Beirut.
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