Beirut -- Hostage confrontation in which gunmen demanded withdrawal of trapped savings in Beirut bank ended with men surrendering and no injuries .
Al-Sheikh Hussein entered a bank branch on Thursday with a shotgun and a canister of gasoline and set fire to it unless allowed to withdraw money, according to authorities. I threatened to catch you.
After hours of negotiations, he accepted the bank's offer to take part of the deposit, according to a group of depositors who participated in the negotiations with local media. He then released the hostages and surrendered.
This is breaking news. Here is AP's previous story:
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese men with shotguns and petrol cans took up to 10 people hostage in a bank in Beirut on Thursday unless they were allowed to withdraw and pay for their locked deposits. , threatened to set himself on fire. His father's medical expenses, according to authorities.
Soldiers and police converged in the city's busy Hamra district to attempt negotiations to end the standoff. It imposes severe restrictions on withdrawals, tying up millions of people's savings.
The shooter, identified as 42-year-old Bassam Al-Sheikh Hussein, entered a federal bank branch with a canister, said a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. . Officials said the man fired three warning shots.
George al-Haj, head of the Bank Employee Syndicate, told local media that seven or eight of his bank employees were taken hostage along with two of his customers. rice field. The gunmen freed one hostage who was taken away in an ambulance.
Hussein has his $210,000 in bank and is having trouble withdrawing money to pay his father's medical bills, says Lebanese Depositors Association representative said Hassan Moghnieh, who participated in
Hussein's brother Atef, who was standing outside the bank, told the Associated Press that his brother would be happy if the bank would give him money to help with bills and other household expenses. Said he would start.
"My brother is not a rogue. He is a decent man," said Atef al-Sheikh Hussein. "He takes what he has out of his pocket and gives it to others."
Lebanese soldiers, internal security force police and intelligence agents surrounded the area.
Dozens of protesters gathered during a standoff, chanting slogans against the Lebanese government and banks, hoping the shooter would receive his savings. Some bystanders hailed him as a hero.
Lebanon is facing the worst economic crisis in modern history. Her three-quarters of the population plunged into poverty, and the value of the Lebanese pound has fallen by more than 90% against the US dollar.
"What has brought us to this point is the state's inability to resolve this economic crisis, the actions of banks and central banks, and the We were only able to recover part of the money." Dina Abou Zor, an advocacy group Depositors' Union lawyer who was one of the protesters. "And this has forced people to take matters into their own hands." "He just wants the money," Sharif said as he stood outside the bank. "I'm not going until my sister comes out."
Coffee trapped in a Lebanese bank, Jan. 5, after her shop owner took an employee hostage and threatened to kill her. I withdrew a million dollars.
