Armed man demanding frozen deposits takes hostages at Lebanese commercial bank

Members of the Lebanese army secure the area near Federal bank in Hamra, Lebanon August 11, 2022. REUTERS/Issam Abdallah

BEIRUT (Reuters) -An armed man demanding deposits frozen by his bank took an unspecified number of hostages on Thursday at the Federal Bank of Lebanon, a security source said and a Reuters witness said.

Lebanese banks have limited withdrawals of hard currency for most depositors during the country's three-year financial meltdown, which has left more than three-quarters of the population poor.