Lebanese hold Friday prayers in damaged Mosque after explosion

Few Lebanese performed prayers on Friday after some rubble was removed from the Mohammed al-Amin mosque, damaged by a blast that ripped through the capital just three days ago.

Some worshippers were allowed to perform the prayers in the Mosque in downtown Beirut, where the Imam addressed the recent blast that claimed the lives of more than 154 people and injured 5,000.

Few people were allowed in the Mosque to keep social distancing measures as numbers of coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.

The blast blew up on Tuesday, sending a mushroom cloud and fireball into the sky, smashing a swathe of the city.

Nearly 250,000 people lost their homes.

Many Lebanese say the explosion and circumstances surrounding it are symptomatic of political cronyism and rampant graft among the ruling elite, who have presided over the nation as its economy has collapsed.