Cold bites as Syrians battle fuel shortage

DAMASCUS — As plummeting temperatures hit Damascus with a shroud of winter fog, people in the Syrian capital have been battling fuel shortage and other adversities.

Although the Syrians are not new to fuel crises under the impact of US-led economic sanctions and lack of access to key oil and gas fields in rebel-controlled areas, the cold wave in the past two weeks has made their fuel shortage all the more grueling.

The shortage has disrupted supplies at gas stations across major Syrian cities, forcing many to either reduce the use of cars or buy fuel from the black market. The cost is about $50 for a 20-liter tank of fuel.

For the first time since the Syrian war broke out 11 years ago, the government has enacted a three-day-long weekend, which will last until the end of the year, and suspended all cross-city sports games to save fuel.

The government also increased the price of diesel broadly used in heavy equipment and warned against purchases of black market fuel.

All of this is coupled with a new decline in the value of the Syrian pound and long hours of electricity outages, even in well-off neighborhoods in Damascus.

Citing General Company for Internal Transport in Damascus director Maurice Haddad, the local al-Watan newspaper reported on Saturday that the government has set stricter diesel quotas, leading to fewer daily bus services offered by the company.

The Syrian government has blamed the current fuel crisis on United States sanctions, which have made it hard for fuel and oil tankers to reach the Syrian coast.

The government-run al-Baath newspaper reported on Saturday that an oil tanker that had been held by US marine forces off the Greek coast arrived at the port of Baniyas on Tuesday, carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil.

An unnamed official source cited by the newspaper said calm is expected to return to the Syrian fuel market if more tankers could arrive without disruptions.

Xinhua