Protests in Beirut continue into the night, analyst

Protesters in Lebanon's capital were in the streets into the night on Saturday, as fury mounted over Tuesday's explosion that devastated much of Beirut.

Human Rights Watch researcher Aya Majzoub told British broadcaster Sky News that people were "enraged that so many politicians and public officials were aware that more than 2,700 tonnes of explosive material was just left in the port for years without any safety measures".

"There hasn't been a single apology. There have been barely any resignations and none among high-level officials", Majzoub added.

Tuesday's blast killed nearly 160 people and wounded nearly 6,000. Dozens were still missing on Saturday.

It also damaged 6,200 buildings and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

Activists who called for the protest set up mock gallows at Beirut's Martyrs' Square, their symbolic violence aimed at politicians whose corruption and negligence they blame for Tuesday's blast.

The disaster has taken popular anger to a new level in a country already reeling from an unprecedented economic and financial crisis and near bankruptcy.

In a televised speech Saturday evening, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the only solution was to hold early elections, which he planned to propose in a draft bill.

In the capital's hard-hit Achrafieh district, a group of protesters, including retired army officers, stormed the building of the foreign ministry, vowing to make it the headquarters for the “revolution.”

At least 142 people were hurt in the clashes, and 32 of them needed to be taken to the hospital, according to the Red Cross.