Tensions over scarce fuel supplies in Lebanon descended into deadly violence on Monday including knives, guns and a grenade that killed three men, the country’s press agency reported.
Lebanon has faced months of severe fuel shortages that have prompted long lines at gas stations and plunged the tiny country, hooked in to private generators for power, into long hours of darkness.
The shortages are blamed on smuggling, hoarding and therefore the cash-strapped government’s inability to secure deliveries of imported fuel. The crisis worsened when the govt reduced subsidies on fuel amid a deepening financial crisis unfolding since 2019.
The Lebanese currency has plummeted and now sells at 20,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar on the black market while the official rate is fixed at 1,500 pounds for $1. the worth of a gallon of fuel has increased by quite 220pc within the last year, triggering panic and a thriving black market.
The fuel crisis has turned violent before, with motorists clashing at gas stations after long waits and fuel running out. But Monday’s deaths reflect growing frustration over a continued problem that has only gotten worse.
The National press agency said that in one incident, a gunfight erupted over a deal a few fuel sale, apparently following a disagreement and leaving two men dead. The violence started within the area of Badawi and extended to Bab al-Tibenneh within the northern city of Tripoli, it reported. Details of the disagreement weren’t immediately clear, but the agency said the lads exchanged fire and at one point, a grenade was thrown.
Troops fanned out, deploying round the local hospital. There was heavy gunfire within the air during the men’s funeral. The author for his or her killing handed himself in, local media reported.
The other clash started with a fistfight at a gasoline station in Bakhoun, a village within the northern Dinniyeh region. a person was shot within the melee; he was taken to a hospital within the nearby town of Zgharta where he died of his wounds, the agency said.
