


The crisis worsened when the government reduced subsidies on fuel amid a deepening financial crisis unfolding since 2019. The shortages are blamed on smuggling, hoarding and the cash-strapped government’s inability to secure deliveries of imported fuel. Lebanon has faced months of severe fuel shortages that have prompted long lines at petrol stations and plunged the small country - dependent on private generators for power - into long hours of darkness. Tensions over scarce fuel supplies in Lebanon descended into deadly violence involving guns, knives and a hand grenade on Monday, leaving three men dead, the country’s news agency reported.
