BEIRUT: Protesters set fire to banks, smashed windows and blocked roads in the Lebanese capital on Thursday as public anger over the country’s deteriorating economy deepened, with the local currency plunging to a new low against the dollar. A decision by the Association of Banks in Lebanon to close all branches further angered citizens and depositors already facing restrictions on withdrawals. The move came as the Lebanese pound fell to a record low of 80,000 to the dollar.Depositors and protesters targeted five banks in the Badaro neighborhood of Beirut Bank Audi, Fransabank, Credit Bank, Byblos Bank, Bank of Beirut, and BBAC. They then attempted to storm the house of the head of the Association of Banks, Salim Sfeir, after staging a sit in in front of the building in Sin El Fil in the eastern suburbs of Beirut. Protesters smashed the glass facades of banks and set car tires alight outside the armored doors that most premises had installed following the October, 2019 protests.

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BEIRUT: Protesters set fire to banks, smashed windows and blocked roads in the Lebanese capital on Thursday as public anger over the country’s deteriorating economy deepened, with the local currency plunging to a new low against the dollar. A decision by the Association of Banks in Lebanon to close all branches further angered citizens and depositors already facing restrictions on withdrawals. The move came as the Lebanese pound fell to a record low of 80,000 to the dollar.Depositors and protesters targeted five banks in the Badaro neighborhood of Beirut Bank Audi, Fransabank, Credit Bank, Byblos Bank, Bank of Beirut, and BBAC. They then attempted to storm the house of the head of the Association of Banks, Salim Sfeir, after staging a sit in in front of the building in Sin El Fil in the eastern suburbs of Beirut. Protesters smashed the glass facades of banks and set car tires alight outside the armored doors that most premises had installed following the October, 2019 protests.