Lebanese Depositors Burn, Attack Banks in Beirut

Taarek Refaat

At least six banks were attacked when the Lebanese lira hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesman for Outcry Association said.

Dozens of Lebanese protesters vandalized and burned commercial banks in a Beirut neighborhood on Thursday as they blocked roads to protest informal restrictions on cash withdrawals and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions.

#فيديو
لبنانيون ثائرون يضرمون النار ويحطمون واجهات بنوك في #بيروت اعتراضا على القيود غير الرسمية المفروضة على عمليات السحب وانخفاض الليرة لأدنى مستوياتها#لبنان #لبنان_ينهار #دولار pic.twitter.com/ljCL2Je4H8
— تدري (@tadriuknow2) February 16, 2023

At least six banks were attacked when the Lebanese lira hit a new record low on Thursday, said a spokesman for Depositors Outcry, a lobby group that represents depositors whose money is stuck in the country's banking sector.

Since 2019, Lebanese banks have placed restrictions on withdrawals in US dollars and Lebanese liras, prompting depositors to seek access to their funds through lawsuits and often by force.

The group also set fire to the house of the head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, Salim Sfeir.

يظهر الآن إندلاع أعمال شغب وتخريب وإحراق في محيط عدة بنوك في #بيروت من بينها فروع عودة والإعتماد في بدارو تزامنًا مع الإنهيار التاريخي لليرة اللبنانية وغضب المودعيين !#السيسى #حرق_ون_بيس #أوكرانيا #الدولار pic.twitter.com/Mgh7HyaoXe
— Kuktil Sho'o كوكتيل شووو (@KokteelS) February 16, 2023

A state of popular anger prevailed in Badaro Street in Beirut, where a number of depositors and protesters set fire to banks, rejecting the approval of the Capital Control Law.

The head of the Lebanese caretaker government Najib Mikati confirmed the continuation of efforts to address the financial conditions in the country, in light of the successive collapse of the exchange rate of the Lebanese pound, which reached 80,000 liras per dollar at the beginning of today’s dealings, in the largest collapse of the local currency.