BEIRUT, (ST)_A number of protesters blocked on Thursday the main road at the main entrance to the town of Sir Dinnieh with burning tires, in protest against the central bank decision’s of ending subsidies to fuel products, according to the Lebanese News Agency (NNA).
Other protests broke out in Tripoli and Sidon and Tyre.
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s central bank said it will provide a line of credit for fuel importers at market price, ending subsidies on the scarce resource.
The move, which will send prices soaring in the country in the throes of an economic crisis, comes amid an unfolding energy crisis that has plunged the country into hours of darkness, threatened hospitals and businesses with shutdown, and sparked deadly violence among consumers and motorists looking for fuel and diesel.
The price of a gallon of fuel has increased by more than 220% in the last year, triggering panic and a thriving black market.
Compiled by: Basma Qaddour