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During the siege, the people of Deir Ezzor suffered from shortages of the petroleum products and the domestic gas, and the Assad regime’s justifications used to revolve around the siege and the insufficiency of what planes throw to them.
While merchants who were dealing with officers and officials in the Assad regime were selling the oil products through local brokers in the markets at very high prices that burden civilians.
This situation remained the same after taking control of the entire city of Deir Ezzor in late 2017 by the Assad regime and nothing changed to the better with regard to the severe shortage of the oil products, and the corruption even increased and the conflicts started between the heads of corruption in the city, and this conflict of interest between the Assad regime’s men in Deir Ezzor resulted in significant conflicts among the official circles and at the forefront of these conflicts is the dispute which took place in the Governorate of Deir Ezzor and the city Police command, which aimed at controlling the gas stations in Deir Ezzor city, the most important of which was “Dahmush” station and it ended with the closure of the station until the parties agree to share the profits, adding to this, the apparent theft through adjusting meter totalizers and charging people additional fees.
In order to distract people and deceive them, it was announced that there was a registration for diesel vouchers, people registered and there were brokerage operations through it, after that people were surprised that the station was closed, and the winter came while they had nothing to get warm.
People get the oil products through brokers and merchants of stalls belonging to the Governorate or through the National defense militia’s leaders and elements, where the allocations of diesel for the military vehicles are stolen and given to a local broker who is known and close to the National defense militia leader “Firass Al-Iraqiyeh” to distribute them to those who pay the required amounts.
Deir Ezzor’s civilian houses are empty of this material which is the main source for heating in winter, and the only ones who can get it are a small group of officials and officers of the Assad regime and their followers, while it remains a dream for the powerless ordinary civilians.