In one of the assaults this Friday, a 50-year-old man, accompanied by his son, in his twenties, broke into a branch of the Byblos Bank in ghaziyehsouth of Sidon, the main city in southern Lebanon, a police source and a security guard who witnessed the incident told AFP.
The man threatened the employees with a weapon that according to a local television channel would be fake, and demanded to be able to withdraw his savings, frozen due to the collapse of the banking sector and the consequent restrictions applied by the entities to money withdrawals.
“He emptied a can of gasoline on the floor and caused a panic in the bank,” said the security guard, who did not want to reveal his name. The assailant and his son were arrested by law enforcement after handing over the recovered sum, $19,000, to a relative.
Apart from this robbery there were three others this Friday in Beirut and one more in southern Lebanon.
Economic crisis ignites despair in Lebanon
Clashes between bank employees and customers have become frequent in Lebanon, where the local currency lost more than 90% of its value and a 80% of the population fell into poverty since the start of the economic crisis in 2019.
On Wednesday there were two other bank robberies committed by savers, one in aley, northeast of Beirut, and another in the Lebanese capital, where a 28-year-old woman managed to withdraw $13,000 to pay for the treatment of her sister, who was suffering from cancer. The young woman identified herself as Sali Hafiz and broadcast a live video of the robbery on social networks.
Last month, a customer of another bank was cheered by crowds after he stormed into an office in Beirut and claimed, rifle in hand, his more than $200,000 in savings to pay for his father’s hospital expenses.
The bank agreed to give him about $30,000, and he later turned himself in to the authorities, who did not take legal action against him.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
