Lebanon Fuel Crisis Disrupts Paperwork at Foreign Ministry

Lebanese protesters are pictured inside the foreign ministry in Beirut on August 8, 2020. (Stringer/AFP)
Lebanese protesters are pictured inside the foreign ministry in Beirut on August 8, 2020. (Stringer/AFP)
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Lebanon Fuel Crisis Disrupts Paperwork at Foreign Ministry

Lebanese protesters are pictured inside the foreign ministry in Beirut on August 8, 2020. (Stringer/AFP)
Lebanese protesters are pictured inside the foreign ministry in Beirut on August 8, 2020. (Stringer/AFP)

In a surreal scene that points to the severe crisis hitting Lebanon, a number of citizens gathered in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beirut to protest the disruption of paperwork as the lack of diesel fuel led to a power cut on Wednesday.

The depletion of diesel fuel from petrol stations, as well as the tanks of the owners of private electricity generators, is a major problem that threatens to take the country into darkness, after electricity rationing in most regions amounted to about 22 hours per day.

“Diesel tanks are either empty or are about to run down, which would force owners of power generators to turn them off completely. This has already been seen in more than one area,” the head of the association of private generators owners, Abdo Saadeh, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Describing the situation as “catastrophic”, he said: “The state asks us to cover its shortcomings by providing citizens with electricity, but at the same time it withholds diesel fuel... How do we operate our generators?”

The representative of fuel distributors, Fadi Abu Shakra, noted that the stocks would start running dry.

Abu Shakra emphasized that an urgent solution was needed, whether by lifting or rationalizing state subsidies on fuel, or fixing its price on the exchange rate of LBP 3,900 against the US dollar.

Citizens flocked to buy diesel fuel to store it for the winter, after the Minister of Energy explicitly announced last week a price hike.

Several roads across the country were blocked by citizens on Wednesday in protest against the shortage of diesel and gasoline.

In a statement, the security forces said they have seized large quantities of subsidized diesel and gasoline intended for sale and smuggling, and the arrest of three people involved in the north of the country.



Erdogan Says Türkiye Ready to Help with Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Erdogan Says Türkiye Ready to Help with Ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Türkiye was ready to help in any way possible to establish a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, and expressed satisfaction with the ceasefire agreement that has come into effect in Lebanon.

Türkiye, which has fiercely criticized Israel's offensives in Gaza and Lebanon, has previously said it discussed a potential truce in Gaza with Palestinian armed group Hamas and gave the group recommendations on how to proceed with the negotiations.

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said the United States would again push for an elusive ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza "with Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others".

"We are stating that, as Türkiye, we are ready to provide any contribution for the massacre in Gaza to end and for a lasting ceasefire to be achieved," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in parliament.

Asked about Biden's remarks, a Turkish official told Reuters a ceasefire in Lebanon without a truce in Gaza was not enough to achieve regional stability, adding Ankara was ready to help reach a deal in Gaza, just as it had supported previous efforts.

"We are again ready to help achieve a permanent ceasefire and a lasting solution in Gaza," the official said.

While Ankara has repeatedly traded insults with Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war, it has not officially severed ties with it. Unlike Israel and its Western partners, Türkiye does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and regularly hosts some of its senior members.