The crisis, which began in late 2019, is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by a post-civil war political class that has accumulated debt and done little to encourage local industries, forcing the country to rely on imports for almost everything.The Lebanese pound has nose-dived, banks have clamped down on withdrawals and transfers, and hyperinflation has flared.The liquidity crunch is crippling the government's ability to provide fuel, electricity and basic services. A shortage of dollars is gutting imports of medical supplies and energy.The fuel shortage has especially raised fears that the country could become paralyzed. Even private generators, used by the Lebanese for decades, have to be switched off for hours to conserve diesel."We are really in hell," tweeted Firas Abiad, director general of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which leads the country's coronavirus fight. Despite a heat wave, the hospital decided Monday to turn off the air conditioning, except in medical departments.Electricity cuts have affected internet connections in various cities, while bakeries warn they might have to close due to fuel shortages.The situation has become critical in recent weeks, with scuffles and shootings at gas pumps, including one in the northern city of Tripoli, where the son of one station's owner was killed.Many Lebanese decry their leaders' inability or unwillingness to work together to resolve the crisis.The country has been without a working government since Prime Minister Hassan Diab's Cabinet resigned days after the massive explosion at Beirut's port on Aug. 4, 2020, that killed 211 people and injured more than 6,000. The catastrophic blast was caused by nearly 3,000 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored there for years.
AFP gives only one example of how bad things are:
With prices soaring in crisis-hit Lebanon, Sherine can no longer afford sanitary pads. So instead each month, she is forced to make her own using baby nappies or even rags."With all the price hikes and the frustration of not being able to manage, I'd rather stop having my period altogether," the 28-year-old told AFP, tears rolling down her cheeks.The price of menstrual pads, the vast majority of which are imported, has risen by almost 500 percent since the start of a financial crisis the World Bank has dubbed likely one of the world's worst since the 1850s.Packs of sanitary towels now cost between 13,000 and 35,000 Lebanese pounds -- between $8.60 and $23 at the official exchange rate -- up from just 3,000 pounds ($2) before the economic crisis.With more than half the population living in poverty, tens of thousands of women are now on a desperate hunt for affordable alternatives.
There is chaos in Tripoli as rioters attack soldiers:
Gunmen took to the streets in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Wednesday, firing in the air and at times throwing stones at soldiers amid rising anger at power cuts, fuel shortages and soaring prices.
The anger was fueled by rumors that a young girl died after electricity cuts stopped a machine that supplied her with oxygen. A Lebanese security official denied the rumors and reports on social media about the girl. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
But the soldiers don't look like they are helping matters.
Videos from Tripoli show what appears to be Lebanese soldiers just running wild, shooting at random, running over trashcans in what looks more like joyrides than maintaining order (h/t Abu Ali Express):
