Reports: armed man who held bank hostage in Lebanon now in custody

Lebanese cannot access most of their savings amid the worsening economic meltdown.

Adam Lucente Marita Kassis
Adam Lucente , Marita Kassis
Army soldiers gather near a Federal Bank branch, Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 11, 2022.
Soldiers gather near a Federal Bank branch, Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 11, 2022. — Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images

A Lebanese man who held up a bank at gunpoint today demanding his deposit has left in the custody of security forces. 

The man entered a Federal Bank in downtown Beirut’s Hamra neighborhood with a long gun at earlier today and demanded he be given his deposit of $210,000. The man also said he needed money to pay his father’s hospital bills. Videos circulated on social media showing the man holding people in the bank hostage during the ordeal. 

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

Continue reading this exclusive analysis

Original reporting and analysis unavailable elsewhere. Subscribe to AL-MONITOR to read this story and access everything we publish

Read By

White House logo NATO Logo World Bank logo European Union logo United Nations logo Foreign and Commonwealth Office logo Harvard University logo