DAMASCUS (Xinhua) - The closure of Homs-Damascus highway in central Syria due to the fierce fighting in nearby areas has triggered off a crunching gas crisis in the Syrian capital.
Many gas stations in Damascus and its countryside have been shut down; long lines of cars have to wait at those still open for hours to get their tanks filled, a situation the Syrians expressed several times already this year.
Syrian media said that the city' gas reserves are only about 600,000 liters.
"I have been waiting here for more than one hour and it seems that I have to wait longer," complained Ahmed, 35, as in front of al-Qussour fuel station in Damascus.
Drivers typically have to go to four or five stations and then line up for two hours to fill up their tanks.
The government has said the crisis will go away in the next several days, citing the army's recapture of several strategic areas near the highway connecting Damascus to Homs, where a key oil refinery is located.
Rebels have fired mortar shells at the refinery several times since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in early 2011, set ablaze many fuel tanks.
The Syrian army closed the highway few days ago to spare travelers the risk of snipers, media reports said.
Mahmoud Kurtehl, general manager of state-run Mahroukat Company, confirmed that gas reserves are ample but the fuel is temporarily unavailable in the capital due to the risks on Homs-Damascus highway and the rebels' attacks on pipelines.
Due to the shortage, the government raised the gas' price for the third time this year in October by 25 percent.
Syria announced recently that the total oil production has fallen from 380,000 barrels a day in mid-March 2011 to 20,000 barrels a day.
A recent report said that Syria's imports of oil derivatives were around 433,600 tons in the first quarter of 2013.
The crisis has prompted the government, which continuously subsidizes fuel prices, to import oil especially from Iran.
Media reports said that the price of one liter of gas has reached $2.84 \in the black market, warning that this will reflect negatively on the living conditions of the people.
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