Queues in Tel Tamr petrol stations, and demands to address the crisis
Tal Tamr – Delsoz Yossef – North-Press Agency
During the daylight hours, motorcycle owner Muhammad al-Jasim, who is elderly and in the middle of fasting during Ramadan, stands in line with civilians in front of a petrol station in the town of Tel Tamr, north of Hasakah, in order to obtain liters of petrol for his bike.
The town is witnessing a fuel crisis with the start of the harvest season and the approach of Eid al-Fitr. Autonomous Administration officials stated that the reason for the crisis is due to the closure of two fuel stations as a result of the invasion of the Turkish army and its affiliated armed opposition groups last October. They have not been reopened as they are near the frontlines with the area under Turkish control.
“There is no fairness, many people do not wait their turn in the queue; they get the fuel and go while we wait here,” complains al-Jasem, who has been waiting his turn for hours at the station.
Al-Jasim calls on officials in the Tel Tamr Petrol Committee to provide gasoline in the open stations, or open new stations, to address the problem. The issue has been exacerbated, especially for those whose work is affected because of the long wait in front of gas stations.
With the announcement of the easing of curfews in northeastern Syria, fuel stations in the town of Tel Tamr are witnessing queues of local residents obtaining fuel in conjunction with the start of the harvest season for this year.
Tel Tamr resident Ibrahim Ismail, while queueing in front of the only station distributing gas in the town, said that the fuel crisis has "significantly affected" their work while they were waiting in the crowd.
Ismail, who works as a cook for a group of agricultural workers, added, “if it remains like this without any solution, we will not be able to work at all, and we will need to come here daily.”
For its part, the Petroleum Committee in Tel Tamr attributes the fuel station crisis to the increased demand for fuel after the easing of curfew measures and resumption of traffic, in addition to the start of the harvest season.
Muhammed Salim, an official in the Tel Tamr petroleum committee, told North-Press: “There are four stations in Tal Tamr, two of which have stopped operating because they are close to the frontlines between Syrian government forces and the Turkish army in the town's countryside, which increased pressure on the two remaining stations and led to their inability to fulfill people’s needs.
He pointed out that the other reason for the crisis is the large percentage of displaced people from their villages in the Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) region since the fall of last year, and that “we are working to solve the crisis by communicating with the supervising authorities to increase the quantities allocated to the stations.”
The northeastern regions of Syria are witnessing a shortage of fuel in general, especially after the Turkish takeover of the Serekaniye and Tel Abyad regions, which has resulted in the inability or difficulty of fuel access to stations in a number of cities and towns in the region.