Drivers of tuk-tuks in Somalia’s capital are abandoning their livelihoods as fuel prices surge, driven up by disruptions to oil shipments linked to the Iran conflict.

With fares rising, passenger numbers had dropped, and many drivers in Mogadishu said they could no longer keep their three-wheelers on the road.

The conflict had nearly halted shipments of around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving African nations among the most exposed to supply disruptions and rising fuel and food prices.

Hasan Suleiman, a 21-year-old tuk-tuk driver, said ‌in Mogadishu, “There are no passengers. People stay home or walk on foot. We raised fares because fuel prices went up.

“The city has few passengers, and they won’t pay the higher fares. We have inevitably parked the tuk-tuks.”

Fuel prices in some parts of Somalia have more than doubled, raising transportation costs for passengers and businesses.

Already 6.5 million people, roughly a third of the Horn of Africa country’s total population, face severe hunger amid drought.

Jamal Omar, a 55-year-old tuk-tuk driver, said, “The tuk-tuk needs fuel, and I need to provide for my family from what it earns. We are in a very bad condition.’’

(Reuters/NAN)