City
Epaper

Banks reopen after two weeks of protests in Lebanon

By IANS | Updated: November 1, 2019 16:45 IST

Banks reopened in Lebanon on Friday for the first time since the start of anti-government protests more than two weeks ago.

Open in App

It came after a speech by President Michel Aoun on Thursday, who promised to form a new government that regains people's confidence and solves the country's economic problems, reports Efe news.

Besides banks, shops and education centres have also reopened, while most roads were unblocked by Lebanese security forces and protesters themselves, who are now marking their 16th consecutive day on the streets to demand deep economic and political reforms, and a regime change.

Dozens of people queued up early in the morning at the offices of the main banking offices in Beirut, an employee of Audi bank told Efe.

A group of protesters broke into the headquarters of the Association of Banks, in the Gemayzel neighbourhood of downtown Beirut, but the security forces expelled them and arrested five people, according to the official Lebanese news agency NNA.

So far, only ATMs were in operation and all bank procedures had been paralyzed, as well as other commercial and bureaucratic activities.

On Thursday, the head of state promised the formation of a new executive after the resignation of the Prime Minister Saad Hariri and to carry out a "transition from a sectarian system to a civil state", which is not based on the distribution of power by religious belonging as established after the civil war.

Aoun said that the ministers would be chosen for "their abilities and experience and not for their political affiliations" to create a government capable of presenting solutions on pressing problems, especially of an economic nature.

Thousands of protesters returned to the streets in Beirut and other regions of the country after the President's announcement and closed some roads with burning tires.

The current wave of protests broke out in mid-October when the Lebanese government announced its intention to approve a rate of 20 cents a day for voice calls on social networks such as WhatsApp, Facebook or Viber in an attempt to increase revenue from indebted state.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: BeirutMichel AounEFESaad HaririAudi
Open in App

Related Stories

NationalDelhi Car Accident: Two Injured as Speeding Audi Hits Scooty and Crashes Into Tree on Lodhi Road (Watch Video)

PunePune Hit-and-Run: Eyewitness Claims Audi Driver Who Killed 21-Year-Old Delivery Boy Was Under Influence of Alcohol

PunePune Hit-and-Run: Food Delivery Executive Killed After Audi Hits Scooter Near Google Building in Koregaon Park; Driver Arrested

InternationalHezbollah Hits Back After Israel Airstrikes Beirut on Eve of October 7 Grim Anniversary

InternationalIsrael-Hezbollah War: Explosion Interrupts Live Broadcast From Beirut of TV Journalist in Lebanon (Watch Video)

International Realted Stories

InternationalProtests continue in Sindh against Pakistan government's canal project on River Indus

InternationalIndia, France ink inter-governmental agreement for 26 Rafale Marine aircraft for Navy

InternationalNawaz asks PM Shehbaz Sharif to not take aggressive stance against India

International7 injured in knife attack in South Korea

InternationalUS intervention holds great value, reckon Pakistani experts as tensions rise at LoC