The stalemate at the bank in Beirut exposes the despair of the economic crisis

BEIRUT (UKTN) — A judge ordered a gunman who took up to 10 hostages at a bank in Beirut to force the release of his trapped savings to remain behind bars Friday, apparently attempting to avoid copycats as desperation mounts over the Lebanon’s economic collapse.

Several dozen relatives of Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein have briefly closed a main road in Beirut, saying detaining him in prison violates an agreement reached on Thursday. The 42-year-old food delivery driver surrendered after a seven-hour standoff in exchange for getting $35,000 of his money, promising he would be questioned and then released. No one was injured.

It was the last reminder of the pain caused by Lebanon’s nearly three-year economic and financial crisis, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in the world since the 1850s. Three quarters of the population live in poverty, corruption is endemic and many are losing hope for quick fixes.

Like most people in Lebanon, Hussein had no access to his money because of banks’ informal controls on money flows. He had $210,000 at the Federal Bank in Beirut and struggled to withdraw some cash to pay for his father’s medical bills and other expenses.