Eye on Extremism - April 13, 2016

Eye on Extremism April 13, 2016 The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Readies ‘Plan B’ To Arm Syria Rebels “The Central Intelligence Agency and its regional partners have drawn up plans to supply more-powerful weapons to moderate rebels in Syria fighting the Russia-backed regime in the event the country’s six-week-old truce collapses, according to U.S. and other officials. The preparations for a so-called Plan B center on providing vetted rebel units with weapons systems that would help them in directing attacks against Syrian regime aircraft and artillery positions, the officials said. The Wall Street Journal first reported in February that President Barack Obama’s top military and intelligence advisers were pressing the White House to come up with a Plan B to counter Russia in Syria. Since then, fresh details have emerged on the nature of the new weaponry that could be deployed under the covert program. The preparations were discussed at a secret meeting of spy chiefs in the Middle East just before the cease-fire took effect on Feb. 27 and in follow-on exchanges between intelligence services.” Newsweek: As ISIS Is Driven Back In Iraq, Will It Emerge As A Long-Term Underground Network? “As U.S.-led offensives push back Islamic State in Iraq, concern is growing among U.S. and U.N. officials that efforts to stabilize liberated areas are lagging, creating conditions that could help the militants endure as an underground network. One major worry: not enough money is being committed to rebuild the devastated provincial capital of Ramadi and other towns, let alone Islamic State-held Mosul, the ultimate target in Iraq of the U.S.-led campaign. If Islamic State is defeated militarily, it likely will revert to the guerrilla tactics of its predecessor, al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), current and former officials said. AQI and its leaders, including Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ‘survived inside Iraq underground for years and there’s no reason they couldn’t do it again,’ a U.S. defense official said.” The New York Times: U.S. Military Campaign Takes Toll On ISIS’ Cash Flow “American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials. Iraqi and Kurdish forces have taken back 40 percent of the militant group’s land in Iraq, the officials say, and forces backed by the West have seized a sizable amount of territory in Syria that had been controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. But the battlefield successes enjoyed by Western-backed forces in the Islamic State’s heartland have done little to stop the expansion of the militants to Europe, North Africa and Afghanistan. The attacks this year in Brussels, Istanbul and other cities only reinforced the sense of a terrorist group on the march, and among American officials and military experts, there is renewed caution in predicting progress in a fight that they say is likely to go on for years.” Reuters: Young Arabs See Islamic State As Biggest Regional Challenge: Poll “Young Arabs view Islamic State as the biggest challenge facing their region and some blame poor job opportunities for the rise of the militant group, according to a survey published on Tuesday. Islamic State has declared a ‘caliphate’ over swathes of Iraq and Syria it occupies, has established branches in conflict-ridden Libya and Yemen and has also carried out a series of deadly attacks in western Europe and Arab Gulf states. The annual survey of people in the 18-24 age bracket across 16 Arab countries showed half of the respondents saw Islamic State as the biggest challenge for the region, up from 37 percent in the 2015 poll and well above other issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and lack of democracy. Asked if they could imagine supporting Islamic State - also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh - if it used less violence, 78 percent of respondents said they could not, while 13 percent said they could and nine percent said they did not know.” Daily Signal: ISIS’ Next Attack Could Be With Chemical Weapons “Earlier this month, Morocco’s head of counterterrorism, Abdelhak Khiame, warned that the Islamic State (ISIS) is trying to build chemical weapons to use in an attack on Europe. The announcement comes after Moroccan authorities in February discovered components for making a chemical weapon during a raid on an ISIS cell poised for an attack in Morocco. Khiame was not exaggerating the risk to Europe, as ISIS has the desire, and is working hard to develop the capability, to pull off such an attack. The recent terror strikes in Paris and Brussels demonstrated ISIS’ ability to infiltrate trained terrorists into Europe, and revealed the extent of terror networks embedded across the continent. An important part of ISIS’ brand is that it is the most ostentatiously brutal of all terror groups, so a chemical attack also has appeal, as it would inspire particular fear and revulsion.” BBC: Syria Peace Talks And Polls Signal Assad's Growing Confidence “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's negotiating team is in no hurry to return to the Geneva peace talks, which resume this week. Delay suits them. The partial truce brokered by the US and Russia is under strain, and the Syrian military has announced a campaign to ‘liberate’ Aleppo with the backing of Russian air strikes, a move which, if successful, may encourage President Assad to declare a major victory against the struggling opposition. Bashar al-Jaafari, the government's head negotiator, has already announced his team will arrive in Geneva late. Wednesday's Syrian parliamentary elections, announced at short notice just weeks ago, have to be completed first. Then Mr Jaafari is scheduled to give a keynote speech in New Jersey to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Syria's full independence from French rule. The message to the international community is clear: the Assad regime is the only legitimate government of Syria.” RT: 29 German Soldiers Have Joined ISIS, Army May Contain Dozens Of Jihadist Sympathizers – Report “German counter-intelligence believes that at least 29 former soldiers from the country have left to join Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. An internal report also revealed that 65 active soldiers are being investigated for alleged jihadist sympathies. The report was undertaken by the German military counter intelligence service (MAD), which was seen by the DPA news agency. The documents show that at least 29 former German soldiers have fled to the Middle East to join Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Social Democratic Party (SPD) MP Hans-Peter Bartels, who is responsible for oversight of the army, said on Tuesday that ‘Islamism isn't the main problem of the Bundeswehr (German Army), however, he did mention that “it represents a real danger that we have to take seriously.’” BBC: Could British Invention Foil Terror Bombs? “Europe has now suffered two major terrorist attacks in under six months. A total of 162 people were killed in the Paris and Brussels attacks in November and March respectively, not including the attackers. Since then, European governments have been looking hard at what, if anything, can be done to prevent a repeat of these attacks. Specifically, is there a device on the market that could be installed, without exorbitant cost, to detect the presence of explosives in a crowded space such as an airport or station? Scientists at Britain's Loughborough University, in the East Midlands, believe they have invented the answer: an explosive residue detector that uses cutting-edge laser technology. The equipment in question, dubbed the ExDetect, is neither discreet, quiet, nor blessed with any great aesthetic appeal - but, according to Prof John Tyrer, it is non-intrusive and could be just what is needed to save lives.” CNN: The Women Who Escaped Boko Haram “Nearly two years have passed since the terror group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, unleashing a global outcry to bring them back. But according to photojournalist Andy Spyra, ‘the Chibok girls (are) just the tip of the iceberg; what happened there is what happens on a nearly daily basis.’ Spyra has been documenting the return of abducted women in Nigeria, their dangerous journeys and their difficult reintroduction to society. In July, he traveled to Yola, the capital of the northeastern state of Adamawa and the front lines of the government's war against Boko Haram. There, he and reporter Wolfgang Bauer talked with women who had survived the brutality and torture of the Islamic militant group.” United States International Business Times: ISIS Fighter Numbers Drop In Syria, Iraq Amid US Military And Cyber Attacks “As the United States continues its fight against the Islamic State group, the number of ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq is at its lowest level in two years, the U.S. government says. ‘In fact, we assess Daesh’s numbers are the lowest they’ve been since we began monitoring their manpower in 2014,’ Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in testimony before the U.S. Senate Tuesday, using another name for the extremist group, Reuters reported. Estimates vary on the total number of ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq, with the CIA giving an upward estimate of 31,500 in 2014. Blinken attributed the decline in ISIS strength to continued U.S. and coalition pressure through military and cyber means. The U.S. military said Tuesday it was dropping ‘cyber bombs’ on ISIS to put pressure on the militant group that controls territory in Syria and Iraq.” Syria The New York Times: Syria’s Partial Cease-Fire Shows Signs Of Crumbling “A fragile and partial cease-fire in Syria is coming under new strains, with ground clashes and airstrikes intensifying as the government promises a new offensive and prepares to hold controversial parliamentary elections on Wednesday. France, one of the most outspoken international opponents of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, and Iran, his closest ally, both issued warnings that the partial cease-fire, which has lasted far longer than any other and has reduced the daily death toll significantly since Feb. 27, faced the threat of collapse. A day before the next round of peace talks is set to start, France, along with opposition negotiators, blamed new government attacks in the northern province of Aleppo and the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus, for endangering the agreement, while Iran blamed ‘armed groups’ fighting the government. Officials in the United States, too, said they were very concerned about the rise in violence.” Iraq Reuters: As Islamic State Is Pushed Back In Iraq, Worries About What's Next “As U.S.-led offensives drive back Islamic State in Iraq, concern is growing among U.S. and U.N. officials that efforts to stabilize liberated areas are lagging, creating conditions that could help the militants endure as an underground network. One major worry: not enough money is being committed to rebuild the devastated provincial capital of Ramadi and other towns, let alone Islamic State-held Mosul, the ultimate target in Iraq of the U.S.-led campaign. Lise Grande, the No. 2 U.N. official in Iraq, told Reuters that the United Nations is urgently seeking $400 million from Washington and its allies for a new fund to bolster reconstruction in cities like Ramadi, which suffered vast damage when U.S.-backed Iraqi forces recaptured it in December.” Turkey Reuters: Six Soldiers, 30 Militants Killed In Southeast Turkey: Security Sources “Six Turkish soldiers and 30 Kurdish militants have been killed in the past 24 hours in attacks and clashes across Turkey's turbulent southeast region, security sources and the army said on Tuesday. An estimated 57 people, including eight civilians, were wounded in the attacks, they said. Thousands of militants and hundreds of civilians and soldiers have been killed since the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) resumed its insurgency last summer following a 2-1/2-year ceasefire and peace process. The government has ruled out any return to the negotiating table and has vowed to crush the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. The security sources said operations in Sirnak province and in neighboring Iraq and Syria had been stepped up and that gunfire and explosions could be heard in the area where earlier one soldier was killed and three others wounded.” Reuters: Turkey Strikes Islamic State In Syria After Attacks On Border Town “The Turkish army hit Islamic State targets in northern Syria, in response to cross-border rocket fire that struck a border town in southeastern Turkey for the second day in a row, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. The military was responding to attacks on Kilis, near the Syrian border, Davutoglu said. The town is home to an estimated 110,000 Syrian refugees and is frequently targeted by artillery from across the border, a region controlled by Islamic State militants. ‘Yesterday and today, rockets belonging to Daesh terrorist organization landed inside Kilis, wounding 21 citizens,’ Davutoglu said in the speech to his ruling AK Party in parliament. ‘Our armed forces, within rules of engagement, responded immediately and hit Daesh targets,’ he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. One person died of wounds following the attacks on Kilis, hospital sources told Reuters later on Tuesday.” Afghanistan CNN: Afghanistan: Former Taliban Fighters Flee ISIS Brutality “It might just be a crackle and a hiss but to many in eastern Afghanistan, it's a sign that ISIS is back. ISIS FM was for months how the militants reached out to local Afghans. But then the United States bombed it, as part of a broader campaign to dismantle ISIS, and the radio broadcast went silent. Yet in the past week, according to several locals, the signal has, occasionally, returned. ‘It was there three days ago, and it's gone again,’ one man tells CNN. ‘They are asking people to pledge allegiance and march on Kabul.’ ISIS first emerged last year in the country's east, gaining ground and support fast, often among disaffected Taliban or Afghan youth. After years of war, the savagery and vision of Islam offered by the group appealed to some, though the Afghan offshoot's link to the Syria-based leadership has been questioned. Many say in fact the Afghan ISIS fighters came from Pakistan and adopted the group's branding in order to get financing.” Associated Press: Afghan Taliban Announce Spring Offensive “The Taliban announced the start of their warm-weather fighting season on Tuesday, vowing ‘large-scale attacks’ in the 15th year of their war against the U.S.-backed Afghan government. In an email to media, the militants said the spring offensive had begun at 5 a.m. They dubbed the campaign ‘Operation Omari’ in honor of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, who died three years ago. The Taliban added that in areas under their control, ‘mechanisms for good governance will be established so that our people can live a life of security and normalcy.’ The insurgents control several rural districts and last year seized the northern city of Kunduz and held it for three days. The Taliban said they would try to avoid killing civilians or destroying civilian infrastructure, and would carry out a ‘dialogue with our countrymen in the enemy ranks’ to try to convince them to join the insurgency.” Yemen Reuters: At Least Four Killed In Islamic State Attack In Yemeni Port Of Aden “A suicide bomber killed at least four people on Tuesday in an explosion in the southern Yemeni port of Aden targeting young army recruits, witnesses and a security source said, the second attack of its kind in two months. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as a shaky U.N.-sponsored truce between the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and its foes, the Iran-allied Houthis, held for a second day despite accusations of violations by both sides. The witnesses and security source said a suicide bomber wearing an explosives-laden belt had blown himself up amid young army recruits waiting for buses in the north of the city. Islamic State's Yemen wing said in a statement on its Amaq news website that it had detonated an explosives device against government soldiers killing five and wounding seven others.” The Guardian: Yemen’s Ceasefire Could Be The First Step Towards Peace – With International Help “After more than a year of war in Yemen, a UN-brokered ceasefire began at midnight on 10 April. It is hoped that the cessation of hostilities would pave the way for peace talks scheduled to start in a week on 18 April in Kuwait. Yemen’s war has been a brutal and under-reported battle. The fighting which has often taken place in urban areas has not only killed more than 9,000 people and internally displaced another 2.4 million, it has also devastated the local services infrastructure and economy leaving more than 80% of the population in need of humanitarian assistance – assistance that has been slow to come. In June 2015, the UN relief arm appealed for $1.6bn for a humanitarian aid response plan for Yemen. That appeal received little over half the required amount and this year, as the conflicts lengthens and the needs worsen, the ask has increased to $1.8bn of which, so far, only 16% has been provided. Against this backdrop, the ceasefire promises to be the first step towards peace for the people of Yemen, who are looking to it to provide some indication of the extent to which the various factions in the conflict are committed to ending 13 months of war.” Middle East Al Arabiya: ISIS Militant Ranks Are At ‘Lowest Level Since 2014’ “ISIS's ranks have been pared back by international and local military action in Iraq and Syria to their lowest level since Washington began monitoring the group, a senior official said Tuesday. The comments from deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken came one day before President Barack Obama was due to convene his national security team at CIA headquarters to take stock of the anti-ISIS fight. ‘Working by, with and through local partners, we have taken back 40 percent of the territory that Daesh controlled a year ago in Iraq and 10 percent in Syria,’ Blinken told US lawmakers in prepared testimony.” Business Standard: UN Survey Highlights Difficult Conditions In Gaza “The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory released on Monday the findings of an unprecedented survey of Palestinian families internally displaced in the Gaza Strip, due to the 2014 escalation of hostilities. According to the survey, ‘nearly half fear being evicted from their accommodation,’ Xinhua quoted UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric as saying. ‘The situation of women and girls is of particular concern, with many families reporting living in conditions without safety, dignity and privacy, including in tents, makeshift shelters, destroyed houses, or outdoors,’ he added. The late 2015 witnessed an outbreak of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.” Fox News: Israel To Release 12-Year-Old Palestinian Girl Who Plotted Stabbing “A 12-year-old Palestinian girl who was imprisoned after she confessed to planning a stabbing attack in a West Bank settlement will be released early, Israel's prison service said Monday, capping a saga that drew attention to the dual legal system in the West Bank. The case has put Israel's military justice system in a tough spot as it deals with a girl who has pleaded guilty to a crime, yet has not even completed the seventh grade. She is believed to be the youngest female Palestinian ever sent to an Israeli prison.” Libya Al-Monitor: Keeping The Islamic State In Check In Libya “After several failed attempts, the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) finally moved to Tripoli, arriving March 31. The international community praised the action, hoping it will be the first step toward not only unifying the country’s two rival governments but also coordinating a response to the Islamic State (IS). The international community is expecting the GNA to take a leadership role in the fight against the militant terrorist group by uniting Libyan militias around an anti-IS strategy, as there are mounting concerns that IS will not only gain a foothold in the North African state but also seize the country’s oil reserves. ‘In addition to increased scrutiny of IS and occasional airstrikes, there is an interest in providing air support, training, etc., for an anti-IS effort,’ said Issandr El Amrani, North Africa project director for the International Crisis Group.” Voice Of America: Over 2,000 Migrants Rescued Near Libya “The Italian Coast Guard said Tuesday it rescued more than 2,000 migrants from the dangerous seas off Libya over the last two days. About 25 separate operations were needed to rescue the men, women and children from overcrowded boats. Italian authorities say there were no casualties and that all the migrants were taken to Sicily. Austria says it is planning to bring back tighter controls of its border with Italy, fearing a new influx of migrants. Along with beefing up several existing border crossings, workers have started building a new border control checkpoint in the Brenner Pass which links Austria and Italy through the Alps.” Nigeria NPR: Boko Haram Increasingly Using Children In 'Suicide' Attacks, UNICEF Says “Nigeria-based militant group Boko Haram is increasingly using children in ‘suicide’ attacks, a U.N. fund said Tuesday. Boko Haram used four children in such attacks in 2014 — and 44 in 2015, according toa report from UNICEF. Nearly 1 of every 5 suicide attacks conducted by Boko Haram used a child, and more than two-thirds of the children were girls. A UNICEF statement puts the word ‘suicide’ in quotes, noting that the children may have carried out the attacks unwillingly. ‘These children are victims, not perpetrators,’ Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF regional director for West and Central Africa, said in that statement.  A UNICEF spokesman told Reuters that in some cases, children might not even know they are carrying a remotely detonated bomb.” Germany Politico: German Police Not Equipped For Paris-Style Attack: Union Leader “Germany’s Federal Police, who patrol borders, airports and railway stations, are ill-equipped to respond to a Paris- or Brussels-style attack or hinder terrorists from entering the country, according to their union leader. ‘We are short-staffed, and our policemen on the ground don’t have the equipment to deal with this sort of terrorism we are observing,’ federal police union leader Ernst Walter told Politico. ‘This puts both our officers and the population at great risk.’ In the wake of the November 13 attacks in Paris and the March 22 bombings in Brussels, Walter demanded better protection for police officers patrolling on foot and by car, including bulletproof vests and armouring some of their vehicles.” Associated Press: Germany Indicts Prominent Islamic Extremist On Terror Charge “German prosecutors say they have formally indicted one of the country's most prominent Islamic extremists on suspicion of supporting a foreign terror group. Federal prosecutors say Sven Lau is accused of four counts of supporting the group Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, or JAMWA, which was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. last year. Prosecutors said Tuesday that the 35-year-old Lau was the go-to contact for extremists wanting to fight for JAMWA in Syria and provided material support to the group. It split in late 2013 and the faction supported by Lau joined the Islamic State group. Lau, a convert to Islam, made headlines in 2014 when he attempted to establish a ‘Sharia police’ in the city of Wuppertal to enforce a strict interpretation of Islam.” France Reuters: France Says Syria Government Offensives Threaten Ceasefire, Peace Talks “France's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday a Syrian government offensive in the Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta regions threatened a truce agreement and could lead to the collapse of intra-Syrian peace talks. ‘France expresses its concern regarding the restart of the violence seen in the last few days,’ spokesman Romain Nadal told reporters in a daily briefing. ‘It warns that the impact of the regime and its allies' offensives around Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta are a threat to the cessation of hostilities,’ he said. He added that the government and its backers would be ‘responsible for a new humanitarian crisis and the failure of intra-Syrian negotiations’ that are due to restart on Wednesday.” Europe Voice Of America: Belgian Prison Officials Worry About Housing Suspected Terrorists “Belgian police conducted fresh arrests and searches in connection with both the Brussels and Paris attacks Tuesday, even as reports surfaced of a quirky fallout to their success: worries by local prison guards over how to handle the mounting number of detainees. Two more men, identified as Smail F. and Ibrahim F., were charged with terrorist activities and murders in connection with last month's Brussels bombings that killed 32 people, Belgian federal prosecutors announced. Local media said the two are brothers. Brussels police also detained three other people for questioning about the November attacks in Paris, following searches of two residences in the capital's Uccle district, the prosecutor's office said in a separate statement. Official statements offered few details about the detentions, but local media reported that a judge will decide Wednesday whether the three will remain in custody.” Technology USA Today: FBI Director Reflects On Apple Dispute “FBI Director James Comey said the collision of privacy and national security interests revealed in the agency's legal battle with Apple Inc., posed ‘the hardest problem I've encountered in my entire government career.’ Comey said the serious policy issues raised in the Apple litigation and the bounds of encryption cannot be resolved in the courts. Late last month, the FBI withdrew its case against the tech giant demanding it assist in unlocking the encrypted iPhone of Syed Farook — one of the shooters in the December mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. — after an outside party assisted the government in hacking the device. ‘I'm glad the litigation is gone,’ Comey told students at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law, adding that the ‘emotion around that issue was not productive. Apple is not a demon; I hope people don't perceive the FBI as a demon.’ The government's withdraw from San Bernardino case, the director said, has allowed both sides to ‘take the temperature down’ while allowing a broader public debate to continue.” Arabic Language Clips Terrorist Financing Mansheet: Terrorist Financing Dominates Anti-Money Laundering Course In Mecca Yesterday, discussions on the financing of terrorism dominated the program of the five-day anti-money laundering course being held by the Center for Social Development in Mecca in conjunction with the Institute of Finance, at the Al Shuhada Hotel. 32 trainees representing 28 charities are attending the course. Hassan Khalaf Al-Faori, Head of Compliance at the Saudi Investment Bank, stressed in his lecture at the event, that Saudi Arabia has devoted great efforts to address the phenomenon of money laundering and terrorist financing. He spoke of the obligations and duties assumed by the Saudi Investment Bank in combating money laundering as well as monitoring banking operations through which the financing of terrorist organizations is carried out. During the event, Director of the Center for Social Development in Mecca, Shady el Lahibi, noted that the Center organized 29 programs and meetings in 2015. Radio Algerie: (Algerian Minister Of Justice) Louh Introduces Law Countering The Recruit Of Militants To Terrorist Organizations Algerian Minister of Justice, Tayeb Louh, confirmed Tuesday that draft law No. 66-156 of the Penal Code is designed to combat the phenomenon of recruiting militants to terrorist organizations "to which Algeria is not immune." At his presentation of this bill before the deputies of the National People's Assembly, Louh stated that Algeria "is not immune to the phenomenon of luring militants and persuading them to join terrorist groups. This is in fact what has been happening since the 1990s, when many joined groups similar to those found in Afghanistan." The new law also aims to "criminalize the acts of recruiting people for the benefit of terrorist associations, organizations or groups, as well as managing their affairs or supporting their businesses or their activities or publishing their ideas by using information and communication technologies, or by any other means." Muslim Brotherhood Lomazoma: Detention Of Five Activists In Alexandria On Charges Of Attempting To Overthrow The Regime The Public Prosecutor in Alexandria on Tuesday ordered the detention and put on trial five activists accused of plotting to overthrow the regime, disrupt public order, purchase illegal weapons, explosives and ammunition, as well as other charges. Egyptian security agencies issued multiple counts against the suspects, which included purchasing weapons, ammunition and explosives necessary to carry out their terrorist conspiracy, targeting police and army officers as well as judiciary officials. The five are accused of allying with the Muslim Brotherhood, Jihadi Salafis and other militant movements, including fugitive leaders abroad, to join forces in disturbing Egypt's peace and security and inciting the masses against the regime. Houthi Ababiil: The Houthis Are Looting Yemen Central Bank's Money And They Present It As Donations By Citizens Activists published through the social media a photo of money being looted by the Houthi militia from the Central Bank of Yemen. The militia showed off the money on a street in the Old City of Sana'a claiming it had been donated by citizens for the sake of what it called its "war effort." The activists claimed that the fact that the money packets consisted mainly of 1000 riyals ($4) banknotes proved it was stolen from the Central Bank of Yemen. Journalist and activist Hamdan Alaly reacted to the image by saying: "The economic situation of the people is difficult…rich and poor alike, and their miserable situation is as a result of halting of businesses and declining sources of income .. But they donate such funds? How?"