Cuba has been hit by worsening power outages after the island's communist government said fuel reserves had run out, as rare protests erupted in neighborhoods around the capital, Havana.

Large parts of eastern Cuba were plunged into darkness on Thursday in the latest round of nationwide electricity shutdowns, while demonstrations over the blackouts broke out in western areas near Havana.

Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said during a late Wednesday news conference: "We have absolutely no fuel, oil, and absolutely no diesel. The only thing we have is gas from our own wells, whose production has increased, and domestic crude oil, whose production is also rising," adding that Cuba was struggling to secure fuel imports.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel blamed the worsening crisis on US sanctions. He said in a statement on Wednesday that the country was expected to face a deficit of more than 2,000 megawatts during the evening's peak demand hours, and that about 1,100 megawatts of power generation had already been lost due to fuel shortages.

A resident of San Miguel del Padron, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Havana, told AFP that people had protested the power cuts by banging pots and pans on Wednesday evening. Several other similar small protests were held in neighborhoods across the capital.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio renewed an offer of $100 million in aid for Cuba, on the condition that the assistance be distributed through the Catholic Church rather than the Cuban government. Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez signaled cautious openness to discussions.

Source: www.aljazeera.com