Inflation at 145%, increase in price of bread, gas
BEIRUT – A shootout between rival families was reported overnight in a low-income neighborhood close to the center of Beirut amid growing social tension exacerbated by the prolonged economic and political crisis, which has been described as the worst in Lebanon in the last 30 years.
According to local media reports, the incident occurred in the district of Khandaq al Ghamiq, close to the government palace and considered a feud of the Shiite movement Amal, headed by parliament speaker and former warlord Nabih Berri. Over the past few days, similar armed clashes were reported, described as “sporadic” and “individual”, between members of Berri’s party and anti-government protesters.
The leader of Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, recently threatened publicly anti-government demonstrators, accusing them of being part of a “plot” organized by western “embassies”.
Over the past few hours authorities further cut down subsidies for flour and gas, causing new price hikes for bread, gas, fuel for electric generators and gas canisters. These are all essential goods and services for the Lebanese: fuel for generators is necessary for electrical power for civilian use, given that electricity provided by the state has been rationed daily for the past five decades (in some areas power is not available for up to 12 hours a day); gas canisters are necessary to cook and for bakeries, given the absence of a national gas network. The local lira, meanwhile, has lost about 90% of its value over the past 18 months. The outgoing government has announced that it is unable to maintain State subsidies for essential goods and services. Over the past few days, incidents and tensions were reported at food stores and supermarkets due to the overcrowding of clients who were trying to get subsidized products and other essential foods like seed oil (olive oil is considered too expensive) and powder milk (regular milk is considered a luxury).
According to official Lebanese data, inflation at the end of 2020 rose to 145.8% and the World Bank has said that in a year the price of meat has risen by 110%. The price of poultry, considered the most economic meat in the region, rose by 65%.
The price of bread has doubled from May 2020 until today. And gas last week went from 4,000 local liras to 20,000 local liras per liter.