On Thursday, an armed depositor detained the employees of a bank in the crowded Hamra area in Beirut, demanding to obtain his deposit, the value of which exceeds two hundred thousand dollars, according to two security sources told AFP, in a new episode of problems in financial institutions since the start of the economic collapse.
Al-Arabiya correspondent reported that the number of hostages inside the bank in Beirut was 8, and Lebanese media reported that the security had succeeded in removing one of the hostages from the bank that the gunman stormed.
The security forces impose a tight cordon outside the “Federal Bank” bank, and are trying to negotiate with the angry depositor to open the bank’s door and release the employees.
A security source said, “The depositor managed to enter the bank with a hunting rifle and flammable materials, threatening the employees if he did not get his money.”
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A gunman takes hostages in a Lebanese bank and demands his money back
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According to a field security source, “the man in his forties poured gasoline all over the bank, and closed his entrance, holding the employees inside.”
According to the source, the depositor is required to obtain his deposit, the value of which exceeds two hundred thousand dollars.
The National News Agency, the official in Lebanon, stated that the depositor “threatened to set himself on fire and kill those in the branch, and also pointed his weapon in the face of the branch manager.”
In a video circulated on social media, two people are seen negotiating from behind the iron bank door with the depositor who is called Bassam. He is seen talking nervously, holding a weapon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, refusing to release any of the employees.
One of the negotiators asks him to allow the exit of two depositors who are inside the bank.
Lebanon, which has been mired in a stifling economic crisis since the fall of 2019, ranked by the World Bank among the worst in the world since 1850, has witnessed similar incidents with banks imposing strict restrictions on withdrawing deposits, especially in dollars.
This made depositors unable to dispose of their money, especially in dollars, while local currency deposits lost their value with the lira declining more than ninety percent against the dollar.
During the past two years, the waiting halls of banks witnessed repeated problems between angry citizens wishing to obtain their deposits and employees committed to the instructions of their administrations.
In light of the political division that prevents taking constructive steps to stop the collapse, whose repercussions did not provide for any sector or social segment, the Banque du Liban issues from time to time circulars to absorb the resentment of depositors, allowing them to withdraw part of their dollar deposits within a certain ceiling.
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