By France24 — Mayssa AWAD | James ANDRÉ — Despite being on the brink of collapse, the Lebanese economy is keeping a troublesome neighbour afloat: Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. In order to dodge international sanctions on the Assad regime – notably the US-imposed Caesar Act – products such as food and petrol are being smuggled across the border into Syria on a massive scale. Our reporters James André and Mayssa Awad investigated a phenomenon that costs the Lebanese economy a whopping $15 million a day and prevents the international community from coming to its aid. Hermel is a Lebanese city located north of the Bekaa valley, 150 kilometres from the capital Beirut. Officially, the border with neighbouring Syria is closed because of the coronavirus. But in this region, all types of products are smuggled, especially those subsidised by the Lebanese state (such as sheep and hay) and smugglers risk few consequences. In the capital, the Lebanese pound has collapsed (it hit an all-time low in March 2021) and people are angry. Every day, groups of protesters block the roads. Across the country, from Hermel to Beirut, the impact of cross-border smuggling exacerbates an already dire situation amid corruption, a political crisis and capital flight.

by middleeasteye.net — Soaring fuel prices caused by chronic shortages have been blamed by Lebanon’s caretaker energy minister on smugglers exporting subsidised supplies into war-torn Syria. Raymond Ghajar said the price for gasoline in Syria is triple the Lebanese price, which is encouraging smugglers to sell supplies there. “The need for petrol on the Syrian market is pushing Lebanese smugglers to smuggle it into Syria for massive profits,” Ghajar told reporters.