Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq's High Commission for HumanRights (IHCHR) on Wednesday called on authorities to take urgent measures toaddress fuel shortages and long queues at filling stations, stressing the needto strengthen domestic production and expand refining capacity to safeguardenergy supplies.
While describing the renewed queuesin Baghdad and several other provinces as an added burden on citizens,particularly amid soaring temperatures and severe traffic congestion, it notedthat field monitoring teams have been deployed to investigate the causes of thesituation and assess conditions on the ground.
The IHCHR pressed for tighteroversight of fuel distribution outlets, storage facilities, and privatelyoperated filling stations to prevent profiteering and practices that couldaggravate supply disruptions. It further appealedto media organizations, social media users, and the public to avoid spreadingrumors or exaggerated claims that could trigger panic buying and worsen thesituation.
The Oil Ministry has rejectedreports of a gasoline shortage, attributing congestion at filling stations toincreased fuel consumption driven by high temperatures. The ministry maintainsthat domestic gasoline production exceeds daily demand, which stands at around32 million liters.
However, sources previously toldShafaq News that the detention of Deputy Oil Minister for Refining AffairsAdnan al-Jumaili in a corruption investigation may have contributed to supplydisruptions and lengthy queues since the Eid al-Adha holiday, with somenorthern refineries reportedly slowing or suspending fuel shipments in protestover the move.
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