HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – In light of the delay in distributing heating oil allocations to residents of northeast Syria, residents of Hasakah are criticizing the delay in receiving their allocations of oil this year despite the onset of winter.
The 46-year-old Hawwas Ma’o, a father of seven residing in the city of Hasakah, said adults can tolerate the cold weather while children and sick people cannot.
Ma’o could not obtain heating oil from fuel stations because selling families’ allocation of heating oil in stations is banned and he did not manage to buy it from the black market due to the stricter control.
Families, who have not received their shares, face difficulties and extra expenses of obtaining the oil from stations and markets.
Due to the cold weather families have installed heaters, but oil distribution tankers have not reached their houses yet.
It was scheduled that distribution process would finish in late November, but residents of several neighborhoods are spending their nights in cold.
Heaters without fire
The 36-year-old Mousa al-Hassan, a resident of al-Nasrah neighborhood in Hasakah, said he has not received heating oil allocation [about 440 litters].
Additionally, tightening control over unlicensed fuel shops and stalls in conjunction with the delay in distributing the oil allocations increased difficulties and sufferings of residents, according to al-Hassan.
Some salesmen of the black market are selling fuel derivatives secretly at their houses but they raised the prices three folds despite the low quality of the products.
According to the Syrian government’s meteorological observations, the minimum temperature tonight in Hasakah will reach three degrees.
Last week, committees of the fuel company in cooperation with the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish) launched a campaign against unlicensed stalls and shops during which they confiscated quantities of diesel and gasoline.
Those sellers obtain fuel through irregular methods and they sell each liter of diesel at about 800 Syrian pounds (SYP, 0,23 USD) and each liter of gasoline at about 1,200 SYP (0,34 USD).
Irregular shipments
One reason after the delay in distributing the heating oil allotments is the great pressure on distributing diesel to the farmers and private generators (amps), head of Fuel Committee of Hasakah, Ibrahim Hussein, said.
He noted that they distribute the daily shipments they receive in cooperation with district and neighborhood councils.
The quantities allocated to Hasakah differ every day, and they are allocated to stations that distribute fuel to cars, heating or farmers allotments.
Hussein apologized to residents regarding the delay in distribution and said that continuing the monitor over fuel that are sold in markets will have positive impacts on the distribution process.