The National News Agency reported that a citizen entered a bank and detained the employees, and threatened to set himself on fire, if he did not get the money deposited in his account.
Lebanon suffers from a crisis in the banking sector, represented in the fact that depositors receive only small amounts of money from their accounts on a monthly basis.
The agency stated that he was subjected to “a detention process for employees and some of the bank’s clients, after an armed person entered and demanded that his money be handed over to him.”
The agency added that a citizen entered the Federal Bank branch on Hamra Street in the capital, Beirut, demanding that he hand over his money, which amounted to 209,000 dollars. He was carrying a military weapon and gasoline, threatening to set himself on fire and kill those in the branch.
The Lebanese security forces came to the scene and “imposed a security cordon” in the vicinity of the aforementioned bank, without additional details.
Media outlets confirmed that “the security services on the ground are trying to find the best ways to solve this issue with the least possible damage,” pointing out that a security team is currently dealing with the man and trying to reach a solution.
Last January, the Lebanese pound fell to 34,000 against the dollar, losing more than 90 percent of its value since 2019.
The World Bank has sharply criticized the ruling elite for its role in one of the worst downturns in the world’s national economies due to its control over resources.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate in Lebanon reached 325%.
The United Nations estimates that about 40 percent of the Lebanese live in extreme poverty, while 80 percent of them live in multifaceted poverty.
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