Lebanon: protesters block roads over fuel and drug shortage
Lebanon now faces shortages of fuel and pharmaceuticals.
Here, vehicles line up to get gasoline at a Beirut station on June 11, 2021. AFP - ANWAR AMRO
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Lebanese protesters blocked roads Friday (June 11) across the country in protest over fuel and pharmaceutical shortages.
As the country experiences the worst economic crisis in decades, the Lebanese are suffering a brutal worsening of living conditions.
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With our correspondent in Beirut,
Paul Khalifeh
The
shortages have plunged Lebanon into chaos
, affecting almost all economic sectors.
In front of the rare service stations open this Friday, June 11, lines of cars sometimes stretched for several kilometers.
After hours of waiting, the customer was entitled to only 10 liters.
Violent altercations took place in front of gas stations under the eyes of overwhelmed police officers.
There is also a shortage in the pharmaceutical sector: many medicines and infant milk are nowhere to be found.
Pharmacies were on strike on Friday to protest the inability to meet customer needs.
Many hospitals have even announced the suspension of dialysis services if the market is not supplied in the coming days.
Meanwhile,
the national currency continued its plunge
, trading at 15,000 pounds to the dollar on the black market.
Outraged by the unprecedented deterioration of living conditions, groups of angry protesters closed roads across Lebanon.
The coastal highway connecting Beirut to the north and south of the country was cut using flaming tires or boulders, with the same scene repeating inside the capital and on the eastern plain of the Bekaa. .
Overwhelmed by events, political leaders,
the governor of the Banque du Liban
and importers exchanged accusations of responsibility for the crisis.
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See also
: Lebanon: one of the worst economic crises since the 19th century, according to the World Bank
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