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A report in the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper revealed the Assad regime’s great contribution to strengthening the crisis that affects Lebanon and exhausts its economy, especially with regard to the banking sector, as the country is witnessing an unprecedented crisis in obtaining foreign currencies, particularly the dollar.
The report released today, Saturday, said that Lebanon annually loses $ 400 million as part of its support for diesel alone, because the corresponding amounts of this amount are smuggled into Syria to support the Assad regime, which is suffering US and European economic sanctions, especially in the energy sector.
The report literally said: “Smugglers through illegal crossings into Syria have resumed diesel smuggling operations and brought flour, two substances that the Bank of Lebanon supports import, along with medications, securing foreign exchange for importation, what which means that keeping the smuggling line open will deplete the Lebanese state’s ability to provide basic goods for the local market. “
He added: “The value of diesel oil smuggled into Syria alone is estimated at $ 400 million annually.”
Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis, especially at the banking sector level, where the loss of hard currencies (the dollar and others) was largely reflected in consumer goods and the livelihood of the Lebanese directly, leading them to It took about a week ago to organize massive protests, in which many banks were burned. Protest against high prices and the deterioration of the value of the national currency against the dollar.
And the value of the Lebanese pound touched the threshold of 4,300 against a dollar on the black market, compared to the official exchange rate of 1,500 pounds, which was a real price a year ago.
Lebanese politicians warn
The Middle East report indicated that Lebanese politicians did not start moving until after a recent television report aired on a television channel, which showed that subsidized flour was smuggled into Syria to witness illegal crossings filled with convoys and trucks that cross both sides of the border.
Asharq Al-Awsat quoted Lebanese Forces Party chief Samir Geagea as saying: “The television report again shows the very negative impact of illegal crossings on the state’s finances as a whole.” He described the report as “news for relevant judicial references, particularly for the discriminatory prosecutor as well as for finance ministers.” Energy and economy to take the necessary measures and save hundreds of millions of dollars, which is a loss for the treasury and the Lebanese citizen annually. “
As for Deputy Hadi Abu Al-Hassan, he said: “While the Bank of Lebanon is holding on to the dollar to buy necessary necessities, such as wheat, fuel and medicine, and depriving people of their money, we see gangs of smugglers who we are exhausted by smuggling flour and diesel across loose borders in both directions. “
“Our voice has been silenced and we are demanding an end to the smuggling of crossings that are protected from illegal weapons,” deputy Muhammad Al-Hajjar said in a tweet. Syria “.
As is well known, the Hezbollah militia, the main defender of the Assad militia in Syria, controls most of the border between Syria and Lebanon and supervises most of the smuggling crossings, on the one hand from Damascus (Jdeidet Yabus), and on the one hand in Homs (the city of Qusair, which was controlled by 2013).
The Bank of Lebanon will guarantee 85% of the cash needed by the Lebanese market to import diesel and flour, in light of a currency crisis and shortage of foreign exchange, in compliance with the decision to support basic products.
Despite this, fuel stations are witnessing a shortage of oil derivatives, due to “smuggling at least two million liters of subsidized material daily into Syria through Hermel and the Bekaa border,” according to the Central Agency of News, noting that the price of a diesel plate in Lebanon is 9,100 pounds ($ 6). According to the official price) As for Syria, its price is equal to 22 thousand pounds (15 dollars according to the official exchange rate).
