Sharjah 24 – AFP: Lebanon's army Saturday seized fuel from gas stations to curb hoarding amid crippling shortages as the central bank chief stood firm on his decision to scrap fuel subsidies.
As Lebanon's economic crisis deepened, one of the country's top private hospitals said it could close due to power outages caused by shortages of diesel.
Lebanon is grappling with a financial crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worse since the 1850s.
Foreign currency reserves are fast depleting, forcing the central bank to scale-down funding for imports in an effort to shore up the little money Lebanon has left.
The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the black market, and 78 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
On Wednesday central bank chief Riad Salameh said he would scrap fuel subsidies to ease pressure on foreign reserves which have fallen to $14 billion.
His decision sparked panic, with huge queues forming outside bakeries and petrol stations as Lebanese -- 78 percent of whom live below the poverty line -- struggled to stock up.
Salameh told a radio station Saturday he would not back down.
"I will not review the removal of subsidies on fuel unless the use of compulsory reserves is legalised," by a parliamentary vote, he said.
Fuel shortages have led to power cuts lasting more than 22 hours a day, forcing the closure of businesses.
Decrying an "imminent disaster", the American University of Beirut Medical Centre said it would be forced to cease operations within 48 hours.
Without fuel, "forty adult patients and fifteen children living on respirators will die immediately," it warned in a statement.
"One hundred and eighty people suffering from renal failure will die poisoned after a few days... Hundreds of cancer patients, adults and children, will die in subsequent weeks."
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