Beirut banks under attack as angry depositors launch fireworks

Protesters once again target banking institutions in Lebanese capital amid financial collapse

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  A depositor is help up after a confrontation with bank security personnel, during a protest outside a Bank Audi branch in downtown Beirut. AP

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  Depositors clash with bank guards in Beirut during a protest demanding access to their accounts. AFP

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  Protesters burn tyres outside the Bank Audi branch. Amid Lebanon's economic meltdown, bank customers have had restrictions on withdrawals since 2019. AP

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  A depositor gets her message across with her mobile phone cover, outside the Bank Audi branch. AP

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  Demonstrators at a protest organised by the Depositors' Outcry campaigning group in front of Blom Bank in Beirut. Reuters

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  Lebanese soldiers stand guard in front of a Bank Audi branch that has had its windows smashed by customers in downtown Beirut. AP

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  A protester injured in a confrontation with bank security staff outside a Bank Audi branch in Beirut. Lebanon's financial crisis has plunged three-quarters of the six million population into poverty. AP

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  A depositor vents his anger outside a Bank Audi branch in downtown Beirut. AP

Angry depositors have again attacked banks in central Beirut, with fireworks launched at one branch in front of a large security contingent in the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon is entrenched in one of the worst economic crises in modern history. Demonstrations are common but highlight the plight faced by depositors who have had their life savings trapped by informal capital control laws.

“We’re living in a close-to-hell setting,” said Rami Ollaik, a lawyer and founder of the anti-corruption organisation United for Lebanon.

“This is not good for the depositor's case. For the past month or so, we have been trying to reorganise and remobolise the depositors — individuals or groups — and keep them focused on the case.”

A few dozen protesters had begun demonstrating outside parliament before marching on Bank Audi, one of Lebanon’s largest such institutions.

There, some set fire to tyres and attacked the exterior of a Bank Audi property. Others accused the bank's security personnel of assaulting them.

Accompanied by soldiers in riot gear, they then marched through some of Beirut’s most lavish, pastel-walled streets — as waiters from expensive restaurants looked on — towards a residence of Lebanon’s billionaire Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

A particularly high security presence was in force as some protesters tried in vain to cut through the barbed wire, as residents of luxurious high-rise towers near the seafront watched from their balconies.

The group then turned and headed towards a building near parliament, believed to house a couple of private banks. Some protesters launched fireworks, sound bombs and other objects at the building, and again burnt tyres and daubed slogans on nearby walls.

High-profile figures targeted

Throughout the march, protesters frequently criticised high-profile figures including Mr Mikati, embattled Central Bank governor Riad Salameh and the wider banking sector.

The economic crisis, which first became apparent in 2019, has been blamed on decades of mismanagement and corruption from Lebanon’s ruling elite.

Depositors have seen their savings evaporate almost overnight after the informal capital controls were introduced amid the liquidity crisis.

Depositors have sought to recoup their losses through a variety of means. A small handful have been successful through the courts, while others have taken matters into their own hands by entering banks — sometimes armed — and demanding their savings.

United For Lebanon has argued that the penal code allows use of force and the committing of an offence in defence of one's money.

In February, angry depositors and their supporters attacked bank entrances in Beirut, before setting fire to the gates of one bank owner's home outside the Lebanese capital.

Last week, the Lebanese judiciary's disciplinary council voted to remove the divisive judge Ghada Aoun from office. Ms Aoun had brought charges against Mr Salameh and other senior bankers over alleged mismanagement and corruption.