Sri Lanka has jailed a man for three weeks after he admitted to hoarding four litres of petrol during a nationwide fuel shortage triggered by the Middle East war, local media reported on Friday.

The 48-year-old man initially said the fuel was for his lawnmower.

A magistrate in Nikaweratiya, 125 kilometres northeast of the capital Colombo, also imposed a fine of US$5, according to the Lankadeepa daily newspaper.

It added that the man had been charged with hoarding petrol and trying to sell it on the black market at a time when authorities had imposed fuel rationing.

Motorists on the South Asian island are currently receiving fuel every other day.

Authorities say existing diesel stocks are sufficient until mid-May, while petrol supplies could last about a week longer.

Fuel prices across Sri Lanka have risen by a third since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, triggering retaliatory attacks that disrupted global supplies.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's office said he had held talks with visiting Russian Deputy Energy Minister Roman Marshavin on securing oil supplies.

In a statement, Dissanayake's office quoted the Russian minister as saying that "Russia is prepared to support Sri Lanka in facing any challenges arising from the Middle East conflict". (AFP)



Edited by Tony Sabine