BEIRUT, Sept 17 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese banks will close for three days starting Monday amid mounting security concerns, local media reported.
The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced the closures, after angry depositors across the country stormed banks yesterday, demanding their savings, according to a TV channel.
More than five banks, yesterday, were broken into and raided by depositors, some of whom wielded pistols and brought fuel jerricans, threatening to commit arson.
The incidents prompted Interior Minister, Bassam Mawlawi, to call for an emergency meeting of security forces, to discuss measures that could be taken.
The wave of raids comes, a month after a Lebanese judge ordered the release of Bassam Al Sheikh Hussein, who took hostages at the Federal Bank of Lebanon, demanding 35,000 U.S. dollars of his savings, to pay hospital bills.
Lebanon has been witnessing an unprecedented financial crisis, that plunged a big part of the population into poverty and forced banks to place heavy restrictions on depositors’ withdrawals.– NNN-NNA