Lebanon: man threatens to set himself on fire in bank 

A Lebanese man yesterday threatened to set himself on fire inside the branch of Bloom Bank in the country’s southern city of Sidon, Anadolu has reported. Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying that the customer made his threat after the bank refused to hand over part of his long-term deposit.

Wafik Kalo apparently closed the bank doors and prevented customers from going in or leaving. When security forces arrived at the scene, they urged Kalo to open the doors and not harm himself.

According to his father, Mohamed, he had gone to the bank to withdraw some of his money, having arranged an appointment a few days ago. He added that the family needed the money “to cover medical expenses for surgery that my grandson has to undergo.”

Lebanon has been witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis since 2019. The value of the local currency has collapsed and there are severe shortages of basic goods, including fuel and medicine.

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