It is the terrible daily life in Lebanon.
Three people were killed on Monday in two separate disputes over the supply of gasoline in northern Lebanon, according to two security sources and the National News Agency (Ani).
Lebanon has been experiencing fuel shortages for months, and queues are growing in front of gas stations where disputes - sometimes involving the use of weapons - are on the increase.
"A dispute took place Monday between two people concerning the priority of filling gasoline while they were queuing in front of a service station in the locality of Bakhoun (north)", indicated a security source. The two came to blows, then one of them shot his opponent twice, who died of his injuries. Another individual was injured, according to Ani.
The agency also reported another similar incident, this time in the town of Beddawi, also in the north of the country.
According to a security source, a "dispute occurred a few days ago between a young man accompanied by armed people wanting to refuel gasoline by force in a station in Tripoli (north), and two people".
The young man and his armed acolytes then pursued for four days the two people who opposed them to Beddawi, where they killed them on Monday, the source said.
The case was settled with grenades and automatic weapon fire according to local media.
The main gunman then turned himself over to the police.
A deep and lasting crisis ...
As their country goes through the worst economic crisis in its history, the Lebanese have to face many shortages, including that of fuel, essential among other things to power private electric generators.
Electricity is now cut for up to 22 hours a day and owners of private generators, who usually take over, have been forced to ration their customers in the face of rising fuel prices due to a drop in state subsidies .
Read also "The signs of a total collapse of the country": in Lebanon, the price of fuel is soaring, poverty is exploding
The Lebanese authorities are now considering the total lifting of fuel subsidies.
The can of gasoline could thus cost between the equivalent in Lebanese pounds on the black market of 10 to 15 dollars per 20 liters while the value of the Lebanese pound has deteriorated sharply for 2 years against the greenback.
These cuts have led to alarming disruptions to commercial activities, but also to hospitals and public services.
Senior officials blamed the current crisis on the storage of large quantities of fuel by traders, but also the growth in black market sales, as well as the rise in smuggling to neighboring Syria.
