Lebanese depositors attack Beirut banks

Dozen Lebanese protestors attacked Beirut banks and blocked neighborhood roads in protest against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals placed for years, as the economy takes a downturn, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Six banks were targeted in line with the Lebanese pound’s newly recorded downfall this Thursday, said a spokesperson for depositors, which is a lobby representing depositors with money stuck in the country’s banking sector.

Firefighters were putting down the fire in the set ablaze-bank in the Lebanese neighborhood, Badaro, with riot police standing nearby with shields.

Lebanese banks imposed legally informal withdrawal restrictions in U.S dollars and Lebanese pounds, which lead depositors to have access to their funds through lawsuits, and even by force.

Bank restrictions came after the Lebanese pound losing more than 98 percent of its value, in light of the country’s financial sector imploding in 2019.

The Lebanese pound’s value reached 80,000 pounds per dollar on Thursday, after being valued at 70,000 two days prior.

Ongoing remedies to the financial conditions in the country are being planned, said the office of Lebanon’s Prime Minister.