Roads Blocked And Gas Stations Close As Lira Plummets Further

The last Wednesday of the month has kick offed with Lebanon’s never ending crises seemingly deepening further. Here are some of the most important updates from this chaotic morning.

The Lebanese Lira has depreciated to a record low of 56,000 LL to the USD. A stunning fall for the national currency after it had fallen to 50,000 LL just last Thursday.

In response to this shift in prices, gas stations across the country have closed their doors to consumers as they await new prices to be set. Residents had formed queues at some gas stations to attempt to fuel up before prices rose, with a single tank of 20L soaring past 1,000,000 LL.

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— Salman Andary (@salmanonline) January 25, 2023

Around the country, protests and road blocks were seen in different areas, as protesters in Akkar shut down the Abda roundabout to register their complaints against the dollar’s continued rise and deteriorating living conditions. In Baalbek, van drivers closed the southern entrance to the city in protest at rising fuel prices. In Tripoli, protesters have parked large cars across the Beddawi-Tripoli highway for similar reasons to their Baalbek and Akkari counterparts. Coordinated protests across the country have yet to materialize.

In parliament, MPs have continued their sit-in sleepover inside the parliament’s main hall as Lebanon approaches its fourth month of presidential vacuum.

#وقائع pic.twitter.com/f7Cl8KJ2as

— (@waqa2e3) January 24, 2023

Finally, the August 4 blast probe returned to action as Judge Tarek Bitar resumed his operations by calling in the head of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, and the head of State Security, Tony Saliba, for interrogations next month. The judge’s work had been blocked for close to a year as former Ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zaiter had filed a complaint against his investigation. It is unclear if the probe is going to get back off the ground at this attempt or be shut down once more.

We will deliver updates on these cases and more as they develop, across our website and social media pages.