Lebanon's cash-strapped banks have put strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency since 2019, effectively trapping the savings of many locals.
A Lebanese man with a shotgun took up to 10 employees and customers hostage at a Beirut bank on Thursday, threatening to set himself on fire with gasoline unless he was allowed to withdraw some of his trapped savings to pay his father's medical bills.A 42 year-old man has taken more than 10 people hostage at the Federal Bank of Lebanon in Hamra
Lebanon's banks have limited foreign currency withdrawals since 2019, effectively trapping the savings of many localsThe hostage drama in Beirut's bustling Hamra district was the latest painful episode in Lebanon's economic free-fall, now in its third year. Since 2019, Lebanon's cash-strapped banks have put strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency assets, effectively trapping the savings of many people.
George al-Haj, head of the Bank Employees Syndicate, told local media that seven or eight bank employees had been taken hostage along with two customers. The gunman released one hostage, who was taken away by ambulance.A bank customer who fled the building told local media the gunman was demanding to withdraw $US2,000 to pay his hospitalised father's medical bills. Local media reported he had about $US200,000 stuck in the bank.
"My brother is not a scoundrel. He is a decent man," Atef al-Sheikh Hussein said. "He takes what he has from his own pocket to give to others."
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