Protesters and security personnel gather outside the Federal Bank's Hamra branch Thursday during the hours-long standoff. (L'Orient Today/João Sousa)
BEIRUT — Federal Bank announced in a statement Friday it would temporarily close its Hamra branch, where an armed man held hostages in an hours-long standoff Thursday as he attempted to take his trapped deposits.
Here’s what we know:
• Federal Bank said in the statement that it closed all of its branches on Friday “and will resume operations on Tuesday,” adding that the bank will be in contact with the Association of Banks in Lebanon “to find a manageable solution to avoid similar incidents in view of the pressing circumstances in the country.”
• The bank also claimed that the rifle used by depositor Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein to hold up its Hamra branch had been brought by him to the premises “and was not at any time a possession of the bank.” Activists and depositors’ groups had said that the rifle was not Hussein’s and that he snatched it from a bank employee.
• Roy Madkour, an attorney for the Federal Bank, told L’Orient Today on Thursday that bank officials have not determined whether to press charges against the depositor but that the board will convene to decide on the matter. Contacted again on Friday, Madkour said that the bank will be taking “the appropriate measures and decisions” concerning the incident, without providing any details.