River Nile, August 26 (Darfur24)
River Nile State in northern Sudan is facing a severe fuel shortage, with gasoline largely unavailable at service stations in several cities and long queues forming at the few stations still receiving supplies, despite government assurances that there is no general fuel crisis.
Darfur24 observed gasoline shortages at most service stations in Atbara, Damar, Berber, Al-Ubaydiyya, Abu Hamad and Dar Mali, disrupting truck and public transport services.
Large numbers of vehicles were seen queuing outside two fuel stations in the Al-Ubaydiyya area in an attempt to obtain gasoline.
Several station owners told Darfur24 that fuel supplies had not reached their stations and that they had not been informed when distribution would resume.
Truck and transport operators also complained about the shortage, saying some had been forced to suspend operations while others were buying fuel on the parallel market at significantly higher prices.
Khartoum State is also experiencing frequent queues at several service stations, amid complaints about difficulties obtaining gasoline and diesel in some areas.
The Ministry of Energy and Oil said earlier this week that sufficient quantities of petroleum products were available and that supplies to service stations were continuing normally.
The ministry attributed congestion at some stations to transportation and distribution problems, as well as efforts to reorganize supplies according to the actual needs of different regions, insisting that the situation did not amount to a general fuel crisis.