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Diesel Crisis Deepens in Aleppo and Latakia Amid Delayed Supplies and Long Queues
A diesel shortage has continued in Aleppo for about a week, with limited supplies at fuel stations and long queues of vehicles. The small quantities delivered to some stations have not been enough to resolve the crisis.
According to local sources, officials attribute the shortage to reduced deliveries and insufficient reserve stocks. Tanker operators transporting diesel from Baniyas to Aleppo also reported delays in loading, saying that priority had been given to shipments bound for Damascus and its countryside, followed by Homs and Hama.
Drivers said some tankers had been waiting in Baniyas for around five days, while others had been waiting for more than a week. Tanker operators added that hundreds of orders had been submitted from Aleppo, but only around 50 had been fulfilled. By contrast, they said, about 150 tankers bound for Damascus had been loaded.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy announced on Sunday that 250 tankers of diesel had been loaded and dispatched to Aleppo and Idlib as part of what it described as “urgent” measures. The ministry said distribution to other governorates would continue, but did not mention Latakia, which is also experiencing a shortage.
In Latakia, residents reported that diesel had been unavailable for four days. A school bus driver said he waited from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. to obtain just 40 litres. The shortage has directly affected the transport of passengers, students and goods.
The ministry attributed the crisis to sabotage targeting the fuel-products pipeline between Baniyas and Homs. This halted deliveries to Homs’ storage facilities, increased pressure on loading stations in Baniyas and delayed the fulfillment of orders. The ministry said the pipeline had been repaired and that work was underway to restore pressure and resume pumping, with loading from the Homs depots expected to restart once sufficient quantities were available.
Separately, sources cited by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the crisis was also linked to difficulties securing the foreign currency needed to import fuel products. They added that several suppliers had stopped deliveries because they had not received full payment, reducing available supplies and worsening shortages in a number of governorates.
The crisis has highlighted the effects of disrupted fuel deliveries and the allocation of available supplies among governorates, as queues persist and residents and drivers continue to report diesel shortages and delays in filling orders.
