Sri Lanka sends troops to fuel stations as economic crisis deepens

The Sri Lankan government posted soldiers at state-run petrol stations on Tuesday to help distribute fuel.

The drastic measure came after a sudden rise in commodity prices and accompanying shortages forced tens of thousands of people to queue for hours. 

The island nation is facing an acute economic and energy crisis triggered due to a shortage of foreign exchange, prompting it to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.

The decision to deploy troops near petrol pumps and kerosene supply points came after three elderly people died waiting in long queues, officials said.

It was a response to complaints of stockpiling and inefficient distribution, said government spokesman Ramesh Pathirana.

“The military has been deployed to help the public, not to curtail their human rights,” he added.

“We decided to deploy military personnel at petrol sheds to tackle unwanted situations where people are taking fuel in cans to do business. They will ensure that fuel is being distributed fairly amongst the people,” Energy Minister Gamini Lokug said to reporters.

Military spokesman Nilantha Premaratne told Reuters at least two army personnel would be stationed at every fuel pump, but the soldiers would not be involved in crowd control.

The rapid drain of Sri Lanka’s dollars has left it struggling to pay for critical imports as currency reserves have slumped 70 per cent in the last two years to $2.31 billion.

But Sri Lanka has to repay about $4 billion in debt in the rest of this year, including a $1-billion international sovereign bond that matures in July.

Ahead of IMF talks in Washington in April, the government said it would hire a global law firm to provide technical assistance on debt restructuring to fight the crisis.