Armed man takes hostages at Beirut bank demanding return of frozen funds
By Tamara Qiblawi, CNNUpdated: Thu, 11 Aug 2022 13:31:48 GMTSource: CNNAn armed man is holding employees and customers hostage at a bank in Beirut's bustling Hamra street Thursday demanding his f
By Tamara Qiblawi, CNNUpdated: Thu, 11 Aug 2022 13:31:48 GMT
Source: CNN
An armed man is holding employees and customers hostage at a bank in Beirut's bustling Hamra street Thursday demanding his frozen funds be released, according to a security source and Lebanon's state-owned National News Agency.
Negotiations are taking place to try to convince the convince the hostage-taker to stand down, according to the security source. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity due to professional norms.
The armed man is demanding the bank return money from his frozen account to pay for his father's operation, threatening to torch the bank and kill everyone in it, according to NNA. The man, who was seen in social media video wielding an assault rifle, insists that the bank give him $209,000 from his frozen account.
Since the start of Lebanon's financial crisis in October 2019, the country's banking sector has imposed discretionary capital controls, severely restricting people's access to their life savings.
The head of the Lebanese Depositors' Association, Hassan Mughniyeh entered the bank in an attempt to negotiate the release of the hostages but the man fired two stray shots, according to NNA.
"The political authority and banking institutions in Lebanon are responsible for this situation," Mughniyeh said according to NNA. "If matters are not addressed swiftly, the situation will worsen."
Lebanon's economic crisis, which erupted in 2019, has propelled more than three quarters of the population into poverty and caused the local currency to lose over 90% of its October 2019 value.
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