Armed woman breaks into Lebanon’s BLOM Bank demanding her own savings

 A Lebanese woman forced staff at BLOM Bank in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, to hand over thousands of dollars from her own savings. The woman was accompanied by activists to take $13,000 from her trapped savings.

One woman with a gun and some associates held hostages at a branch of BLOM Bank. The woman said that she needed the money to pay for her sister’s cancer treatment. She revealed that she had repeatedly visited the bank to ask for her money. However, the bank staff told her she could receive only $200 a month in Lebanese pounds. She further revealed that she used a toy pistol to break into a Beirut bank branch and took $13,000 from her trapped savings. The woman identified as Sali Hafez said that the toy gun belonged to her nephew.

The lady said, “My sister was dying, didn’t have much time left. I reached a point where I had nothing else to lose.” She also revealed that she had already sold many of her personal belongings to her ill sister. 

Lebanon is suffering due to an economic meltdown. Lebanon's banks have locked most depositors out of their savings since an economic crisis took hold in 2019.  People are unable to buy basic goods like food and medicines. Power cuts have also become common in the country because of fuel shortages.

The Beirut port explosion in 2020 also affected the economy of the country. The economic crisis pushed people into poverty. The World Bank Lebanon Economic Monitor Fall 2021 report also categorized Lebanon's crisis as the top three most severe economic collapses worldwide since the 1850s. 

Lebanon has also failed to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a recovery program that would unlock billions of dollars in international loans.