BEIRUT: Angry residents of Hermel in Lebanon’s north of Bekaa valley region took to the streets on Friday near the Assi River bridge where they burned tires and blocked the road to protest the unavailability of fuel and the total power outage.
The Lebanese army intervened to reopen the roads following the first protests since Hezbollah delivered tons of Iranian fuel to Lebanon via illegal crossings with Syria, under the pretext of meeting people’s needs.
The region is one of Hezbollah’s strongholds. Discontent prevails in the Bekaa areas, especially in the Baalbek-Hermel region, where empty diesel tanks cannot operate the heaters needed to fight the extreme cold.
On Friday, the price of 20 liters of diesel jumped to LBP243,000 ($161), equivalent to half the minimum wage, after subsidies were fully lifted. The exchange rate exceeded LBP19,000 to the dollar on the black market.
Mayor of Baalbak Haidar Shamas told Arab News that the protests are due to the non-delivery of Iranian diesel to the people who paid for it, adding that the Al-Amana company has not delivered it.
People wishing to buy Iranian diesel must pay in cash to Hezbollah’s Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association, in accordance with the price determined by the US-sanctioned Al-Amana Co.
Al-Qard Al-Hasan is registered as a non-profit organization and was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2016. However, its activity has not stopped.
Shamas said that in order to end people’s resentment, Hezbollah asked neighborhoods to register their names in exchange for 500 liters of diesel for free, with the rest to be sold to them in accordance with the Al-Amana Co.’s pricing.
“However, if it decides to start distributing diesel to houses, the free distribution to public hospitals, bakeries and electric generators will stop, as the Iranian diesel quantity is not enough. The monthly fees of generators will rise again and exceed 1 million Lebanese pounds at least. People supporting Hezbollah have started protesting against its policy to provide diesel for areas that do not support the party. It has increased the confusion for Hezbollah which has no previous experience in this field,” Shamas said.
There is a total power outage in the Baalbek-Hermel region, with lucky areas receiving just one hour of electricity per day.
Private generator owners have reduced their provision to only eight hours of electricity per day to drop fees to LBP600,000 after struggling families complained, with many opting to return to candles.
Elsewhere, protests sparked in Saida in Southern Lebanon as taxi drivers rejected the municipality’s attempt to implement a project of developing transit lines between the city and its surroundings, especially for school and university students, after the daily transportation fees became unaffordable.
Taxi drivers protested in front of the municipality, blocking the road with their cars.
Separately, after visiting Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi on Friday, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said: “I am aware that there are great concerns, but we strive and seek to resolve them all.”
During his meeting with Mikati on Thursday, International Aid Coordinator for Lebanon Ambassador Pierre Dukan stressed “the need to accelerate the implementation of reforms, expedite the launch of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and reach an agreement before the end of the year, when France seeks to organize an international conference to provide direct aid to the state budget.”
While meeting a number of Lebanese officials, US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea said: “The financial situation is very difficult, and there is no solution without reasoning with the IMF as soon as possible.”
Washington has suggested that it will help Lebanon get electricity from Jordan and facilitate the flow of Egyptian gas through Jordan and Syria to northern Lebanon.