Raqqa fuel: removal of unlicensed stalls aims to deter smuggling
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, the Fuel Directorate in Raqqa, northern Syria, issued a circular to ban unlicensed fuel stalls and outlets in the city and its countryside.
Abdulrahman Abdullah, a member of the police department in the Fuel Directorate in Raqqa, said that the decision to remove unlicensed stalls and outlets aims to deter internal and external smuggling of oil derivatives.
Fuel stalls are widespread in the city of Raqqa and its countryside, selling oil derivatives at prices twice that of their subsidized price at official gas stations.
Abdullah added to North Press that the Hydrocarbons Directorate has taken this step and is able to secure the population’s needs of oil derivatives.
The circular to remove fuel stalls will enter into force from today until the beginning of next August, according to a member of the police department in the Raqqa Fuel Directorate.
Abdullah pointed out that the removal of unlicensed stalls and outlets will contribute to providing the population with oil derivatives at the right price and prevent exploitation by fuel dealers and domestic and international smuggling.
The circular of the Directorate of Fuels in Raqqa gives owners of unlicensed stalls and outlets fifteen days to remove them, and after the determined time, the Municipalities Officer and Civil Defense Forces will remove them.
The directorate has established committees that carry out field tours on a daily basis to supervise the sales of fuel at its licensed filling stations, he added.