Along the main road of Shadra, trucks lined up one after the other. Photo provided by our correspondent Michel Hallak.
Residents of the village of Shadra (Akkar) in North Lebanon, near neighboring Syria, have called on Lebanese authorities, particularly the army command and security forces, to find a solution to the constant road congestion in their town caused by trucks transporting supplies to Syria, often illegal smuggling, via the Wadi Khaled crossing, reports our correspondent in North Lebanon.
“The supplies trucks and fuel tankers queuing to reach Wadi Khaled heading towards Syria cause massive traffic jams on Shadra's main road, sometimes stretching for a kilometer, paralyzing traffic in the town and preventing residents from attending to their daily work and students from getting to school,” said the residents in a statement, which also accuses “mafias on both sides of the border of constantly reopening clandestine crossings.”
The residents of Shadra have called on authorities to consider solutions, including the regular inspection of trucks and organizing road traffic so that private car movement is not hindered. They also highlighted the issue of noise and air pollution. Additionally, they pointed out that the local roads are not equipped to handle such high traffic, as they are beginning to crack and develop potholes.
They also urged the governor of Akkar, Imad Labaki, to address the situation, particularly by regulating the passage times of trucks, which could limit road traffic.
Lebanon only shares an open land border with Syria, which means that all imports arriving in the country by land must pass through Syria. “Since the fall of the Assad regime [on Dec. 8 last year], the legal Syrian borders have been closed because they are non-operational, and these trucks are blocked,” said Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the Bekaa Growers and Tobacco Planters Union, to L’Orient-Le Jour.
