Suicide Deaths Rise in Lebanon’s Stricken Economy

W460

Suicide deaths are rising in Lebanon as the country grapples with an unprecedented economic crisis raising suicide deaths to three on Thursday.

Nazih Aoun, 56, from the southern town of Tebnin, put his life to an end on Thursday “because he has been unable to find a job for while,” the National News Agency reported.

Aoun is the third Lebanese to commit suicide over dire economic conditions and an unprecedented financial crisis.

On Wednesday, a man in his 40s shot himself to death with a bird rifle when he became despondent over salary cuts in recent weeks.

On Sunday, Naji Fliti, a 40-year-old father of two, committed suicide outside his home in the eastern border town of Arsal because he could not pay outstanding medical bills for his cancer-stricken wife.

An unprecedented anti-government protest movement has gripped Lebanon since October 17, fueled in part by deteriorating living conditions.

The World Bank has warned of an impending recession that may see the number of people living in poverty climb from a third to half of the population.

Unemployment, already above 30 percent for young people, would also go up, it said.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri's cabinet resigned two weeks into the protest movement, bowing to popular pressure.

But the country's deeply divided political class has yet to form a new cabinet, frustrating demonstrators who have remained mobilized.

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