Dozens of protesters, led by retired military officers, stormed the Lebanese Foreign Ministry headquarters in central Beirut today.

"We will stay here. We urge Lebanese people to occupy all ministry headquarters," said a protester over the loudspeaker at the Foreign Ministry headquarters.

Protesters entered the building, burned some documents and portraits of President Michel Aoun, chanted anti-government slogans and declared the State Department headquarters now "the headquarters of the revolution".

"The government has to leave its chair," retired military officer Sami Ramah read the statement on the building's steps.

Anger and despair enveloped Beirut when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded on August 4, destroying a series of houses and iconic buildings.

The government pledged to investigate to the end and hold the people behind the tragedy accountable.

They argue that the government has mismanaged and neglected responsibility when the ammonium nitrate depot existed in the port of Beirut without safety measures for the past six years.

It happened at a sensitive time for Lebanon, when the country was experiencing an economic crisis with high inflation, nearly half of Lebanon's population lived below the poverty line and 35% was unemployed.