Armed woman breaks into Beirut bank, takes trapped savings

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Eyewitnesses say an armed woman and a dozen activists broke into a Beirut bank branch and took more than $13,000 from her trapped savings. Lebanon’s cash-strapped banks have imposed strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency since 2019, tying up the savings of millions of people. Eyewitnesses say the woman stormed the BLOM bank branch with activists Wednesday, held a handgun and doused the area with gasoline. They say she demanded the money to pay for her sister’s cancer treatment and received U.S. dollars before fleeing.