A Lebanese parliamentarian on Wednesday entered a bank branch near Beirut, demanding some of her trapped savings to cover medical expenses.
Cash-strapped Lebanon in recent weeks has witnessed a surge in depositors storming bank branches to forcefully withdraw their locked savings as the country's economy continues to spiral. On Tuesday, depositors stormed at least four banks, two of which were armed.
Lebanon's cash-strapped banks have imposed informal limits on cash withdrawals since late 2019. Since then, three-quarters of the population plunged into poverty, and the Lebanese pound lost some 90 per cent of its value against the dollar.
Beirut legislator Cynthia Zarazir entered a Byblos Bank branch near the capital, demanding USD 8,500 from her savings to cover expenses for a surgery.
The reformist lawmaker arrived with a lawyer, and for several hours has been negotiating with the bank branch's management.
“I am a Lebanese citizen demanding my rights in light of this exceptional situation,” Zarazir told the press and bystanders.
Her lawyer Fouad Debs, a member of legal and advocacy group the Depositors' Union, told The Associated Press that negotiations are ongoing, and that she has rejected a “ridiculous” proposal to withdraw her savings in Lebanese pounds at a fraction of its dollar value Meanwhile, dozens of protesters scuffled with riot police near at the Central Bank's headquarters in Beirut.
And in Byblos, a man fired an assault rifle at the glass facade of a bank branch, after employees did not let him in without an appointment. The general public has commended the bank heists, some even hailing the perpetrators as heroes.