Report: Fuel shortages cripple Mosul

Left: Iraqis still line up for hours for fuel. Mosul is Iraq's third largest city, with about 2,000,000 residents.

Fuel shortages have almost brought life to a standstill in the northern city of Mosul.

The severe crisis started with the suspension of fuel imports from Syria since March 22. “We now receive less than 10% of the province’s fuel needs,” said the commission in charge of fuel distribution in northern Iraq in a statement.

Mosul, the capital of the Province of Nineveh, is the third largest city in Iraq and is a major anti-U.S. rebel stronghold in the country. The statement said the whole province had access to about 4% of its gasoline needs and only 2% of liquefied gas used for cooking. The statement said the refineries in Baiji were working below capacity and their inventories were almost empty.

It said the shortages have brought essential services to a grinding halt.

Read the rest at Azzaman

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