This is the moment a desperate customer stormed a bank armed with a bottle of fire accelerant just to get his own money out.
Frustrated Omar Al-Awar took the manager hostage and threatened to set him on fire unless he was given his USD 6,500 (GBP 5,000) savings in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Banks across Lebanon have frozen customers’ assets as the country struggles with a devastating financial crisis.
But Al-Awar saw red when he could not get to his cash and took BML Bank manager Jad Bou Chedid hostage.
To back up his threat he brandished a bottle which he claimed contained a flammable liquid.
Al-Awar told the bank: “I am not a panhandler, this is my money and I want it.”
Bank officials quickly organised the emergency withdrawal and Al-Awar released his hostage, later surrendering to police, according to local media.
It is currently unclear what charges he could face.
Lebanon has been grappling with a serious economic crisis since 2019, with most people locked out of their bank accounts.
Many banks have imposed restrictions on the withdrawal of savings in US dollars amid a shortage of foreign currencies in the country.
