Lebanon: the population continues to suffer from a fuel shortage
The scene is now daily in Beirut: lines of cars stretch for hundreds of meters in the direction of gas stations.
A further increase in fuel prices would have devastating consequences for the mobility of people.
AFP - JOSEPH EID
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
While waiting for the dreaded end of fuel subsidies, for lack of sufficient foreign currency at the central bank, the Lebanese continue to queue every day at gas stations.
Smuggling to neighboring Syria, opportunistic storage by importers, a shortage has set in with many stations closed.
Publicity
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With our special
correspondent in Beirut
,
Aabla Jounaïdi
The scene is now daily in Beirut: lines of cars stretch for hundreds of meters in the direction of gas stations.
“
This fuel crisis affects us even more than before,”
explains Mohamed, a taxi driver
.
I leave my house and I do not know if there will be enough to refuel.
The other day I waited three hours and on arrival I was told the tanks were empty.
And me, I wasted my day.
Being a taxi at the moment is very difficult
.
"
The Lebanese suspect that
the shortages of recent weeks
have been orchestrated by importers, pending the lifting of subsidies, possibly at the end of June.
In the lines, spirits often heat up: “
People are afraid of each other.
Hunger ends up devouring us and no one takes care of us,
”Mohamed warns.
Devastating consequences
Lower in the queue, it is no longer rare to hear the Lebanese express themselves like Pierre, a craftsman from the Ashraffiyeh district: “
We were better off under the war.
Refueling was expensive, but at least there was fuel.
"
A further increase in fuel prices would have devastating consequences, not only for the mobility of people, but also for the electricity supply, already notoriously failing in Lebanon.
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To read: Lebanon hit by a shortage of medicines
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