Dozens of protesters set fire to ATMs and destroyed the facades of several banks in the capital Beirut on Thursday, demanding the return of their money and protesting the failure to find a solution to their issue.
The Depositors’ Cry Association called for a sit-in and protest in front of banks, and carried out several sit-ins in front of banks in Beirut and other areas. During the sit-in, some depositors attacked the banks, destroyed their facades, and set fire to some of them.
In a statement broadcast during their gathering, the protesters demanded that officials “find a solution to their deposits held in banks after 5 years of waiting.”
According to the association’s statement, the demonstrators gathered in front of Al-Amin Mosque and headed towards targets identified by the association in the Dora area north of Beirut, where the Lebanese-French Bank was attacked first, followed by the Arab Bank, the Emirates and Lebanon Bank, and the Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries.
The statement added, “Depositors set tires on fire in front of the aforementioned banks in protest against the theft of deposits and the large monthly fees deducted from accounts.”
The protesters raised banners that “reject any law that does not restore the rights of depositors” and demanded “holding the corrupt accountable and recovering the stolen funds.”
The protesters called on every depositor to “not stay at home watching, but to participate in the demonstrations and sit-ins to achieve the legitimate, legal and legitimate demands.”
Every now and then, protests are repeated against banks, due to their imposition of restrictions on depositors’ funds in foreign currency since 2019, in addition to setting strict ceilings on withdrawing money in lira, in light of a severe and unprecedented economic crisis in the country.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Lebanon is facing an unprecedented banking and sovereign monetary crisis. Since the beginning of the crisis, the economy has contracted by nearly 40%, the Lebanese pound has lost 98% of its value, and inflation has reached unprecedented rates.
