Homs | Three oil trucks affiliated to “Al-Qaterji” explode in front of gas company, causing substantial material damage
Syrian Observatory activists have reported hearing loud explosions in neighbourhoods in Homs city, caused by the explosion of three oil trucks affiliated to “Al-Qaterji” company. The trucks exploded near a reservoir in front of the Syria Gas Company (SGC) in Homs, which led to outbreak of fires and caused substantial material damage.
It is worth noting that Al-Qaterji company transport crud oil from SDF-held areas to regime-controlled areas. The company’s oil trucks usually take roads pass through the Syrian desert where they are sometimes attacked by ISIS cells.
On December 10, SOHR activists monitored a fire in the petrol upgrading unit in Banyas refinery in Tarus province, which caused substantial damage.
It is worth noting that widespread popular discontent prevailed throughout regime-controlled areas over the fuel crisis, as SOHR reported a few days ago that the Syrian regime-held areas across Syrian provinces were experiencing a growing fuel crisis, with the regime’s inability to meet the civilians’ need of fuel, and the spread of corruption in the regime’s institutions responsible for distributing fuel.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored long lines of vehicles at petrol stations in Damascus, Tartus, Aleppo and Latakia, where hundreds of cars were forced to queue for long hours to fill up with fuel.
The regime’s Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources issued a decision, on the previous day, reducing the amount of the citizens’ fuel allocations. The regime justified the decision by the scarcity of oil resources in the country in the light of the international sanctions.
The Ministry decided to temporarily reduce the oil allocations distributed to the provinces, by 17% for petrol and 24% for gasoline.
In this context, the phenomenon of selling fuel on the black market emerged, where fuel was available at triple the price, as one litre of gasoline is sold for about 2,000 pounds while a litre of diesel is sold for about 1,500 Syrian pounds.