Lebanese man hailed hero for holding bank hostage over savings

Banks across Lebanon have closed for three days due to security concerns. It follows a series of bank hold ups, with people demaning access to their own savings. Withdrawal limits have been in place since 2019, in response to the country's economic crisis. On August 11, 42-year-old Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein entered the Federal Bank in Beirut’s bustling Hamra district with a shotgun and a canister of petrol or gasoline and threatened to set himself on fire if the bank did not return the full amount of his savings, about $200,000.. Bassam was hailed by some in Lebanon despite taking bank workers hostage during a 6-hour siege, indicating the scale of the country's total financial meltdown. Bassam Al Sheikh Hussein tells Al Jazeera he will never give up until he gets his money in full. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ #Lebanon #LebanonCashCrisis #LebanonBanks #FederalBank #LebanonEconomicCrisis #BassamAlSheikhHussein
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