Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iran MFA: Iran has not received any written proposal from the US on the nuclear deal, whether directly or indirectly.
Al Mayadeen correspondent in Yemen: Israeli aggression targets the port of As-Salif, Hodeidah governorate.
Reuters: The Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 72 martyrs in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip since dawn today
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Iran maintains that its talks with the Europeans and its indirect negotiations with the United States are proceeding on separate tracks
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Istanbul: Talks with the European Troika are being led by Iran's deputy foreign ministers for political and legal affairs
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Bombardment of the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air has continued since the early morning
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Istanbul: Talks kick off between Iran and the European Troika in Istanbul
Local Syrian sources: The village of Al-Thala in the western countryside of Sweida was subjected to mortar shelling, with explosions heard in the area.
Occupied Palestine: Very violent Israeli raids target Tal al-Zaatar in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.

Lebanon bank hostage-taker turns self in

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 11 Aug 2022 22:16
4 Min Read

The suspect turned himself in after the bank agreed to pay him $30,000 from his more than $200,000 in trapped savings, according to official media.

  • x
  • An armed man Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42, right, holds a cigarette as he speaks with one of his hostages inside a bank, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. (AP)
    Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42 holds a cigarette as he speaks with one of his hostages inside a bank, in Beirut,  Aug. 11, 2022 (AP)

Bystanders praised an armed client who held bank employees hostage for hours Thursday in Lebanon because he couldn't access funds frozen as a hero.

The suspect, identified only as Bassam, was armed with a rifle and had doused the interior of the bank with gasoline, according to security sources.

But after eight hours the standoff ended peacefully.

"You are a hero, Bassam!" cheered bystanders outside the bank.

The incident was the latest to involve local banks and irate depositors who have been unable to access savings held in Lebanese banks since the country's economic crisis began in 2019.

The suspect turned himself in after the bank agreed to pay him $30,000 from his more than $200,000 in trapped savings, according to official media.

"Employees taken hostage have also begun to leave the bank," Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said.

Lebanese banks have imposed limited withdrawals of hard currency for most depositors, leaving more than 75% of the population struggling to make ends meet and afford even the most basic goods.

The man entered the Federal Bank of Lebanon's branch in the Western Hamra neighborhood just before noon on Thursday, bearing a firearm, a security source told Reuters.

The man demanded access to some $200,000 that he had in his bank account due to a relative being in the hospital and him needing the money. After the employee refused the request, he pulled out his gun.

Related News

Suspect pleads not guilty in California mass shooting

The man’s brother who was on the scene told the Associated Press his brother was seeking to withdraw his money to pay for his father’s medical expenses and other family needs.

"My brother is not a scoundrel, he is a decent man," Atef al-Sheikh Hussein told the news agency. "He takes what he has from his own pocket to give to others."

A gunman broke into a bank in Beirut with a gallon of gasoline, threatening to set himself on fire if the security forces break into the bank, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported.

A #Lebanese man has taken an unspecified number of people hostage, demanding the release of his deposits frozen by his bank in the wake of the economic crisis in #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/34jJnWL7yZ

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) August 11, 2022

"Work is currently underway to provide part of the gunman's funds as means to negotiate with him," our correspondent added, noting that information suggests that he has five hostages.

At least one elderly man was released from the bank because of his age and government negotiators were deployed to begin talks with the hostage taker, the interior ministry said.

A Reuters witness could see a bearded man in a black shirt behind the gated entrance to the bank speaking to several men in plainclothes on the outside. 

"Let them give me back my money!" he was heard telling them.

The situation caused a crowd to gather outside the bank, many of which were changing "down with the rule of banks!" a slogan that has been echoing throughout Lebanon for a while now, since the start of the economic crisis and the protests that followed suit.

Commercial banks cap monthly cash withdrawals in US dollars while only allowing limited amounts to be withdrawn in Lebanese pounds at a rate much lower than the parallel market rate, which leads to significant cuts in the original value of the deposits that have become incredibly inflated.

Banks claim to make exceptions for humanitarian cases, such as hospital care, but depositors say these exemptions are very rarely implemented.

  • Lebanon
  • suspect
  • bank
  • hostage-taker
  • Economic crisis in Lebanon

Most Read

A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025
Two F-35 jets arrive at it's new operational base Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah. (AP)

F-35 near-misses over Yemen signal new risks for 'Israel': Forbes

  • Politics
  • 14 May 2025
Palestinians pray over bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment who were brought from the Shifa hospital before burying them in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP )

Gaza casualty figures mask a much bigger horror, new study shows

  • Politics
  • 11 May 2025
Gaza and the logic of necropolitics: Sovereignty measured by killing

Gaza and the logic of necropolitics: Sovereignty measured by killing

  • Politics
  • 15 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Romanian presidential front-runner accuses Macron of interference
Europe

Romanian presidential front-runner accuses Macron of interference

Syria signs $800 million deal with UAE to develop Tartus Port
MENA

Syria signs $800 million deal with UAE to develop Tartus Port

Some Pakistanis have taken to the streets in protest over India's decision to suspend the water deal. (AP Photo: Anjum Naveed)
Politics

India threatens Pakistan’s water supply with Indus river project plans

Former FBI chief accused of calling for Trump’s assassination
US & Canada

Former FBI chief accused of calling for Trump’s assassination

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS