Lebanon public transportation sector stages strikes

Lebanon’s public transportation sector held a strike on Thursday to express their dissatisfaction with the current gas prices.

The sector decided to hold the strike between 5:00 am and 12:00 pm after the government failed to place ceilings on the price of gasoline sold to drivers.

The protestors will organize a march and gather at the Grand Serail at 12:00 pm.  

In Akkar, the drivers blocked several of the area’s main roads by burning tires and shouted slogans to urge the government to meet their demands, the National News Agency reported.

The protests caused bumper-to-bumper traffic and prevented the majority of students and employees from reaching their destinations.

Also in the north, the port city of Tripoli witnessed blocking of roads to protest the spiraling rise in fuel prices.

The sector was also on strike in the southern city of Tyre as drivers headed early in the morning with their vehicles to the Serail to make their voices heard.

The head of the union of taxi drivers in the South, Qassem Shebli, told NNA that the situation has become intolerable.