Lebanon in darkness for days as fuel runs out, army intervenes

Lebanese have been living without electricity for days as two of the largest power stations, Deir Ammar and Zahrani, shut down due to a fuel shortage.

The power grid "completely stopped working" at noon on Saturday and was unlikely to restart for several days, an official told news agency Reuters.

Lebanon's state electricity company, Electricite du Liban (EdL), said in a statement that the two power plants, providing together 40 percent of the country's electricity, have shut down "with no possibility of resuming operations in the meantime".

On Sunday a senior official at EdL told UAE based The National,that some   6,000 kiloliters of gasoil given by the army to bring the power back. 

The official told the paper that the gasoil will last for about three days. Meanwhile, a fuel-oil shipment that docked on Saturday could be used to generate power from next week, EdL said.