Petrol Bombs Hurled at Bank in Tyre after Sidon Attack
Molotov cocktails were thrown at dawn Sunday at a bank branch in the southern city of Tyre, hours after an explosive device was hurled at a bank in Sidon.
“Unknown individuals threw three Molotov bombs at a bank in Tyre before fleeing to an unknown destination,” LBCI TV reported.
The attack smashed the bank's glass facade as army intelligence agents and security forces arrived on the scene and launched an investigation.
The incidents come at a time of rising public anger against banks in Lebanon, which is facing its worst economic and financial crisis in decades.
The value of Lebanon's local currency has been in free fall, losing over 60% of its value against the dollar in recent weeks. The downward spiral was accelerated by the central bank's decision to halt the withdrawal of dollars from foreign currency accounts or transfer bureaus. The central bank requires private banks to convert withdrawals into the local currency at a market rate set daily.
The decision brought back protests to the streets of Lebanon earlier this week, as demonstrators criticized the central bank governor and private banks and accused them of sequestering their savings in foreign currency.
In a sign of the deepening crisis, Prime Minister Hassan Diab accused the longtime central bank governor Riad Salameh of orchestrating the local currency's crash on Friday, and criticized what he called his "opaque" policies that he said covered up major banking sector losses and capital flight.
Source: Naharnet
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