HERMEL, Lebanon: Residents of the Bekaa staged a demonstration over the weekend to protest rising fuel prices, especially heating oil, calling on the government to introduce subsidies to ease their burden as winter begins.

Residents in the east Bekaa burned tires on the Baalbek-Homs highway early Saturday morning to protest the cost of heating oil, with demonstrations stretching along the highway from the city of Baalbek to the northern Lebanese-Syrian border.

Ali Allaw, a farmer, said that the region’s residents began their protest when they found themselves unable to secure basic food items such as sugar and eggs, the prices of which have skyrocketed. “How can we afford to buy fuel when its price is now double the minimum wage?” he said.

Over 35 percent of the region’s families live below the poverty line and many are finding it difficult to afford fuel as temperatures begin to drop, especially as each family needs an average of 200 liters of heating oil during the winter season, at a cost of around LL1 million a month.

Mohammad Mordah, a laborer, directed his frustration at officials and politicians “who have not bothered to make an appearance at demonstrations to talk to the protesters and help them achieve their demands.”

Saturday’s protest was the third in the northern Bekaa in just over two weeks.

Baalbek residents organized a demonstration last Thursday in front of the city’s Serail, holding banners calling on the government to reduce the price of 20 liters of oil to LL15, 000.

A demonstration and strike was also held on Nov. 18 when around 600 merchants and shop owners staged a demonstration in front of Baalbek’s Serail to protest the deterioration of security in the city and high fuel costs.