As Lebanon is hit by an unprecedented political and economic crisis according to the World Bank, many citizens want to withdraw their savings from banks. Since the accounts have been frozen for three years, the Lebanese start robbing their bank to get their money.
Five robberies took place on the same day on Friday in Ghaziyeh, Ramlet el-Baïda and Beirut in particular. the lebanese daily The East-The day It also lists in real time the various bank robberies in the country.
multiplication of robberies
The phenomenon has accelerated since mid-August with almost daily robberies. The local currency has lost more than 90% of its value against the dollar, arousing even greater concern among the population, which blames the mismanagement, corruption and inertia of the current political class.
Some savers even mediate their action like Sali Hafiz who went to his bank on Wednesday, gun in hand, to recover the $20,000 in his account.
She explained, in a video filmed live during the robbery and posted on social media, having to pay hospitalization costs for her sister who is suffering from cancer. The young woman had also invited some journalists to witness the robbery, among them our colleagues from Release.
Banks closed on Monday
Faced with these multiple robberies, the Minister of the Interior called an emergency meeting “to take the necessary security measures,” he stresses. The East-The day.
The Association of Lebanese Banks has decided to close all establishments from Monday and for three days, reports Lebanese television Al-Jadeed. In a statement, the association says it deplores the “violence” suffered by bank employees and invites the Lebanese government to “pass laws” to get the country out of the current economic crisis.
Targeted for a robbery on Friday morning at one of its branches in Ghazieh, Byblos Bank has decided to close “all its branches in southern Lebanon until further notice”.
For its part, the Lebanese Depositors Association expressed support for the perpetrators of these thefts, saying they face “injustice and oppression.”
Source: BFM TV
