Three people died in northern Lebanon after two separate brawls over scarce fuel as shortages spark tensions at gas stations.
Fuel importers severely rationed supply, blaming a delay by the central bank to open credit lines to fund imports, which generated hours-long queues and confrontations at gas stations.
A man was shot and died on Monday following a fight that broke out when a motorist tried to cut a long queue at a gas station, AFP reports, while two people were killed in a separate fight Friday “related to the sale and purchase of fuel.”
The Middle Eastern country has been grappling with the worst financial and economic crisis in its history which has been exacerbated by a fuel crisis since the start of summer.
Nearly 80% of the Lebanese population was propelled into poverty, the UN said last week.
In August last year, the Lebanese capital shook as hundreds of tons of unsafely stored chemicals exploded in the Beirut port, killing more than 200 people and destroying large areas of the city.
The explosion’s one-year anniversary this August comes amid a political stalemate that has left the country without a functional government for a year.
Former PM Saad Hariri resigned last month after multiple failed attempts to form a government, leading to the appointment of billionaire Najib Mikati as the country’s new prime minister-designate.
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