Protesters Block Lebanon Roads as Prices Spiral Out of Control

Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
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Protesters Block Lebanon Roads as Prices Spiral Out of Control

Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)
Demonstrators gather and ride on motorbikes during a protest against the fall in Lebanese pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon March 2, 2021. (Reuters)

Protesters in Lebanon burned tires and closed several major roads on Thursday in a third day of demonstrations as the severe economic crisis gripping the country continued to spiral out of control.

The new wave of protests began on Tuesday after the Lebanese pound plunged to record lows on the black market, raising fears that the deterioration will only get worse. Prices have skyrocketed in recent months.

In a new low, a fistfight broke out inside a supermarket in the Hazmieh area near Beirut over the purchase of subsidized powdered milk. Some supermarkets and groceries have started setting restrictions on how much people can purchase amid limited supplies and as panicked residents stock up on food at home.

The supermarket issued a statement later saying the fistfight broke out when a shopper attacked a branch manager who told him he cannot buy large amounts of subsidized milk and oil without considering the restrictions.

While officially the US dollar costs only 1,520 Lebanese pounds, the black market price was around 9,950 pounds on Thursday — a day after briefly hitting a record high of 10,000. Just a few months earlier, dollars could be bought at a rate of about 7,000 pounds for $1.

On Thursday evening, protesters burnt tires to block roads leading out of Beirut in Jal el Dib and Furn al-Shebbak. The main road was also blocked in Zouk district to the north of the capital.

“They are humiliating people with a bag of milk,” shouted one protester at the rally in Zouk. “The ruling class must go.”



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.