Lebanese Army Seizes Hoarded Fuel at Gas Stations as Fuel Shortage Bites

Angry motorists Saturday cut off several roads in the crisis-beleaguered country protesting against a severe fuel shortage and economic deterioration, local media reported.

Drivers blocked a main road and lay on the ground in the Mount Lebanon region in west Lebanon after they had spent the night outside a fuel station to fill up their cars, but the station refused to sell petrol.

The Lebanese army on Saturday said it was raiding closed gas stations to seize gasoline and distribute it “free of charge” to the people.

Soldiers deployed at several gas stations north of Beirut, where hundreds of vehicles had been queueing for long hours to fill up on petrol.

A statement said the military confiscated more than 78,000 litres of gasoline stored at two gas stations as well as 57,000 litres of diesel fuel from a third one. Internal Security Forces also said they had seized thousands of litres of petrol and diesel fuel stockpiled at one gas pump.

Video footage posted online showed motorists cheering as the army raided gas stations.

After the army’s deployment, many petrol stations across the country reopened after closing for several days.

The police also announced they would dispatch patrols to gas stations believed to be hoarding fuel and confiscate it.

Lebanon is grappling with a financial crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet’s worst since the 1850s.

On Wednesday central bank chief Riad Salameh said he would halt state subsidies on fuel imports, sparking panic across the country.

Saturday Salameh insisted he would not back down from his decision without a parliamentary vote, saying foreign reserves had fallen to $14 billion.

Crippling shortages of fuel and power cuts lasting more than 22 hours per day have left many businesses and homes without the diesel needed to power private generators, plunging the country into darkness.

They have also caused giant queues at petrol stations that are rationing gasoline supply, allegedly because of low stock.