Problems related to gasoline and diesel fuel shortages in the provinces intensified on Tuesday, as disputes and fights erupted between drivers and gas station owners. In the Governorate of Assiut, gas stations ran out of supplies of 80- and 90-octane gasoline in addition to diesel fuel. Verbal confrontations developed between drivers and station owners after the owners announced they were out of fuel. Some of the drivers then took to the streets on foot hunting for fuel supplies. It was reported that several of the gas stations in Assiut increased their gasoline prices to LE2 per liter during the shortage. Taxi driver Mahmoud Abbas said he was forced to leave his taxi after he failed to find 80-octane gasoline at normal prices to refuel it. He blamed a lack of government supervision for the decision of gas station owners to raise their prices. Ali Saleh, a private car owner, told Al-Masry Al-Youm, "Arguments and fights are becoming a daily occurrence here between drivers and gas station owners. The crisis has lasted for days and the government has done nothing to solve it." Al-Masry Al-Youm has also received reports of long lines at gas stations in Daqahliya Governorate, amid severe shortages of gasoline and diesel fuel. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
