There is palpable tension in Lebanon as protesters tried to storm central bank offices in two major cities yesterday after the national currency plunged to a new record low on the black market.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that the pound has been pegged to the dollar at 1,507 since 1997, but the country’s worst economic crisis in decades has seen its unofficial value plummet.
On Saturday, money changers told newsmen that it was trading at 17,300-17,500 to the greenback on the black market, while some social media users said it had fallen as low as 18,000.
Dozens of angry Lebanese took to the streets of the northern city of Tripoli to denounce the depreciation and ‘difficult living conditions, Africa Today News, New York reports.
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Some protesters managed to break through the gates of a branch of the central bank and enter the courtyard, the NNA said, but the army prevented them from reaching the building.
Demonstrators also set fire to the entrance of a government office.
Others were seen trying to force their way into the homes of two lawmakers but were stopped by security forces.
The NNA said gunshots were heard outside the house of lawmaker Mohammed Kabbara and the army intervened to disperse protesters.
In the southern city of Sidon, protesters tried to storm another branch of the central bank only to be pushed back by security forces, the NNA reported.
Scattered protests also took place in the capital Beirut, where a small number of protesters took to the streets and burned tyres.
Lebanon has been roiled since autumn 2019 by an economic crisis the World Bank says is likely to rank among the world’s worst financial crises since the mid-19th century.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK