Dozens of savers smashed bank windows and set fire to tires Thursday in Beirut to claim their blocked money, according to AFP photographers, as the Lebanese currency experienced a steep fall against the dollar.
In the district of Badaro in Beirut, about fifty people vandalized the facades of at least four banks and burned tires in front of them, during a demonstration at the initiative of an association of savers. The demonstrators then gathered in front of the house of a banker in the suburbs of Beirut, according to local media.
Since the beginning of the unprecedented economic crisis triggered in 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 95% of its value against the greenback.
Savers no longer have access to their savings blocked in banks, which have restricted withdrawals and transfers of money.
Last year, a series of robberies by customers wanting to withdraw their savings forced banks to partially close for several weeks.
On February 6, the Association of Banks of Lebanon (ABL) announced an open sector strike. Only ticket machines remained open.
"Three years ago, they (...) stole our money," one of the protesters, Pascal al-Rassi, told AFP. "Some people here are millionaires but don't have a penny in their pocket," continues this doctor, determined to demonstrate until he gets his money back.
The pound was trading at nearly 80,000 LL to the dollar on Thursday, according to exchange rate monitoring sites and traders, while in early February it was trading around 60,000 LL to the dollar.
This new fall has resulted in higher commodity prices, in a country where more than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN.
On Wednesday, in reaction to the deterioration of their living conditions, dozens of taxi drivers blocked the road in front of the Interior Ministry in Beirut to protest against the drop in their income.
Lebanon is experiencing one of the world's worst economic crises since 1850, according to the World Bank, and the power vacuum is making the situation worse. Since November 1, the divided Parliament has failed to elect a president eleven times.
The country is ruled by an interim government unable to adopt the reforms needed to obtain aid from the international community.
16/02/2023 12:03:58 - Beirut (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
