Hours-long queues for fuel in Beirut amid worsening shortages

Beirut, Jun 15 (EFE).- Kilometer-long queues formed at petrol stations in Beirut on Tuesday as people waited for hours to refuel amid worsening shortages of fuel and other basic products caused by an acute economic crisis.

Analysts and clients have accused the station owners of treasuring the fuel to sell it at a higher rate whenever authorities stop subsidizing it, a move that is expected soon due to a lack of funds.

The authorities have seized a “record” quantity of fuel at a series of gas stations that withheld it from clients, the economy ministry said in a statement on Monday.

At one of Beirut’s major filling stations, queues on Tuesday extended across several adjacent streets with an average waiting time of over two hours.

“I’ve been in line for three hours to fill up my tank, I don’t care, I’ll stay longer. It is better than having a lot of fuel in the country and it being transported to other places,” Ashraf, 23, told Efe referring to the widespread smuggling from Syria.

At the station, one of the employees was wearing a vest that read “Don’t stab me, don’t shoot me, don’t hit me”, reflecting the tension that has led to fights. EFE

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