September 20
2018
Sinking of MV Nyerere
On September 20, 2018, the small passenger ferry MV Nyerere capsized and sank off Ukara Island in Lake Victoria, Mwanza Region, northwestern Tanzania, after passengers and vehicles on board shifted to one side as the ferry neared the landing. Recovery teams later recorded 228 confirmed fatalities and 41 survivors; provisional figures had varied in the chaotic days after the disaster. Read more
1984
1984 United States Embassy bombing in Beirut
On September 20, 1984, a vehicle-borne bomb exploded in the vicinity of the United States diplomatic compound in Beirut, Lebanon, during the long and chaotic years of the Lebanese Civil War. The blast shattered buildings, killed and injured civilians and local staff, and reinforced the grim lesson that U.S. diplomatic facilities in Lebanon had become explicit targets for Iran‑backed militant networks operating under names such as the "Islamic Jihad Organization." Read more
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