BEIRUT, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Angry depositors, at least two of them armed, stormed three commercial banks in Lebanon on Tuesday over withdrawal restrictions imposed on most customers amid the country's financial meltdown.

Bank break-ins are on the rise across Lebanon as residents grow anger over the informal restrictions that banks have imposed since the economic downturn began in 2019.

The Depositors' Scream Association, which advocates for angry depositors, said that a man carrying a pistol and a hand grenade entered the Chtaura branch of the Lebanese Commercial Bank (PLC) on Tuesday morning, demanding the withdrawal of his $24,000 savings.

The association told Reuters in a statement that the man, named Ali al-Sahli, was himself owed a large amount and also needed to transfer money to his son, who was studying in Ukraine.

The statement said the man tried to sell his kidney.

The association stated that security forces later entered the bank and arrested al-Sahili before he could get any money.

The bank has not made any comment to Reuters so far.

On Tuesday, a group of workers at a government power station in northern Lebanon stormed the branch of the First National Bank in the coastal city of Tripoli, according to eyewitnesses.

The representative of the union to which the workers belong, Talal Hajar, said in front of the bank that they were angry because of the delay in withdrawing their salaries and the fees they incurred to complete the process.

In a third incident, the "Depositors' Association", another association that supports depositors, said that an armed depositor had taken hostages in the Byblos Bank in the city of Tire in southern Lebanon.

She said he was carrying a gun and was claiming his $44,000 in savings.

There was no immediate comment from Byblos Bank.

On Monday, Lebanese depositor Zaher Khawaja and some of his friends were able to withdraw 11,750 dollars from his account, which exceeds 700,000 dollars, at the Haret Hreik branch of BLOM Bank (Blom).

Bloom said Khawaja was unarmed and the bank would investigate the incident.

Last month saw a series of similar incidents that prompted the country's banking association to announce a nearly week-long closure.