![\"Drivers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/74b70edc3aa15b4d217e782e64f44fe1.jpeg\")
Drivers in Ethiopia’s capital said they slept in their cars waiting in long queues for fuel (Marco Simoncelli) \u00b7 Marco Simoncelli\/AFP\/AFP <\/p>\n Drivers in Ethiopia’s capital said they slept in their cars waiting in long queues for fuel (Marco Simoncelli) \u00b7 Marco Simoncelli\/AFP\/AFP <\/p>\n
Ethiopians said Friday they slept in their cars in hours-long queues for petrol as shortages caused by the Middle East war began to take their toll.<\/p>\n
The effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes, has caused shortages in many countries.<\/p>\n
Ethiopia, a nation in the Horn of Africa with around 130 million people, is particularly vulnerable as it imports all its petrol, primarily from the Gulf.<\/p>\n
Drivers waiting in an enormous queue at a petrol station in the Summit 72 area of the capital Addis Ababa said the wait was “more than a day”.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been in the queue since last night at around 7:00 pm. I spent the night in my car without food,” said taxi driver Awoke Derese on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
“I have already lost two days of business. I pay 2,000 birr ($13) per day in rental fees for the car. My family is at risk because I can’t support them,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Shortages started to be noticed earlier this week. At another petrol station in the Summit 72 area, a worker said they had been closed for four days and did not know when fresh deliveries would arrive.<\/p>\n
Bakery worker Natenahel Gedamu said his business needed fuel for generators and baking machines.<\/p>\n
“We ran out yesterday and have not produced anything since,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I’m worried the station may run out of fuel before I reach it. I’ve already tried several stations — this feels like my last chance,” added Natenahel, who had been queueing since 4:00 pm the previous day.<\/p>\n
Land-locked Ethiopia relies on the port of Djibouti for its imports.\u00a0It has only 13 strategic reserve depots, according to the state-owned Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise, which did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week urged Ethiopians to “use oil sparingly and prioritise basic needs” until “the problem is resolved”.<\/p>\n
More than 40 percent of Ethiopians live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, and fear the inflation — already running around 10 percent — from rising fuel prices.<\/p>\n
Addis Ababa has been undergoing a major reconstruction drive in recent years, but some building projects were on hold this week, AFP journalists saw.<\/p>\n
This included the “corridor” project to widen and renovate its streets and work in the Bole district near the airport.<\/p>\n
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