Protesters in North Block Syrian Fuel Tankers from Entering Syria
The residents of northern border towns blocked the roads that lead to Syria on Wednesday to prevent fuel tanker trucks from crossing into the country, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA said protesters from the town of Arida that has a crossing with Syria blocked the international highway with rocks and barbed wires in the morning over the alleged smuggling of oil and diesel. They reopened it around 2:00 pm after MP Moeen al-Merehbi negotiated with them.
The road of al-Abboudiyeh border crossing was also blocked in both directions, it said. But it was opened later in the day for only trucks carrying food products.
The protest came a day after the energy ministry said the reported smuggling was a fabrication made for political objectives.
It denied that the oil and diesel exported to Syria were from the refineries controlled by the ministry in northern and southern Lebanon.
“The tankers so far have only been filled by private companies,” it said in a statement.
The ministry said the government is not committed to the international sanctions imposed on Syria.
"The numerous trucks transporting different kinds of goods on the border are a proof that these sanctions are not binding,” it added.
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