Eye on Extremism December 28, 2016

Eye on Extremism December 28, 2016 Reuters:Turkey And Russia Agree On Proposal Towards Syrian Ceasefire, Anadolu Says “Turkey and Russia have prepared an agreement for a ceasefire in Syria, Turkey's foreign minister said, adding Ankara would not budge on its opposition to President Bashar al-Assad staying in power. The comments by Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday appeared to signal a tentative advance in talks aimed at reaching a truce, but the insistence that Assad must go will do little to smooth negotiations with Russia, his biggest backer. Russia, Iran and Turkey said last week they were ready to help broker a peace deal after holding talks in Moscow where they adopted a declaration setting out the principles any agreement should adhere to.” Press: Associated US-Backed Fighters Approach IS-Held Dam In Syria “Kurdish-led fighters are approaching a strategic dam controlled by the Islamic State group in northern Syria after days of fighting that killed a senior IS military commander, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed forces and others said Tuesday. Talal Sillo of the Syria Democratic Forces said the fighters, with the support of U.S., French and British special forces, have driven IS from dozens of villages and farms in recent days and are now about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Euphrates Dam. The SDF, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, has been on the offensive in Raqqa province since early November, advancing with the aid of U.S.-led airstrikes. The operation is aimed at encircling and eventually retaking Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist group's self-declared caliphate.” Reuters: Russia Calls U.S. Move To Better Arm Syrian Rebels A 'Hostile Act' “Russia said on Tuesday that a U.S. decision to ease restrictions on arming Syrian rebels had opened the way for deliveries of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, a move it said would directly threaten Russian forces in Syria. Moscow last year launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad and his forces retake territory lost to rebels, some of whom are supported by the United States. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the policy change easing restrictions on weapons supplies had been set out in a new U.S. defense spending bill and that Moscow regarded the step as a hostile act.” NPR: Looking Ahead To The War Against ISIS In 2017 “In 2017, major fighting against the ISIS in Iraq may wind up and focus may shift to a new protracted campaign in northern Syria. Ari Shapiro talks with NPR's Tom Bowman about what lies ahead. A new year and a new president could mean a new phase in the war against the Islamic State. Donald Trump promised to defeat that group many times throughout his campaign. People at the Pentagon say Trump could increase the number of airstrikes, but that could mean more civilian casualties. He could send even more American commandos and Green Berets or even conventional troops. But that of course could mean more American casualties.” Daily Beast: Face To Face With An ISIS Killer “A nameless Iraqi colonel brought in a broken man in bright yellow prison garb, wearing dusty flip flops, and a week’s growth of beard below a long nose, and dull eyes that had given up all hope and defiance. The colonel leaned the prisoner against a wall, facing in my direction. His hands were cuffed behind his back, beneath the words “Iraqi Correctional Facility” in Arabic. He was only maybe 10 feet from me. He was an ISIS battalion commander, until he was caught in a raid south of Baghdad four months ago.” Radio Free Europe: Iraqi Premier Says Will Run Islamic State Out Of Iraq In Three More Months “Iraq's Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi predicted on December 27 that it will take only three more months to remove the Islamic State extremist group from Mosul and the rest of Iraq. The city's fall would effectively end the militant group's ambitions to form a ‘caliphate’ stretching across Syria, Iraq, and other states. U.S. commanders have said it would take as long as two years to eliminate IS from Iraq, but elite Iraqi soldiers have moved quickly to retake about a quarter of Mosul and areas south of that in offensives this year. ‘The Americans were very pessimistic. They used to talk about a really long period, but the remarkable successes achieved by our brave and heroic fighters reduced that. I foresee that in Iraq it will take three months,’ Abadi told a televised news conference.” Voice Of America: Russia, Pakistan, China Warn Of Increased IS Threat In Afghanistan “Russia, China and Pakistan warned on Tuesday that the influence of so-called Islamic State (IS) was growing in Afghanistan and that the security situation there was deteriorating. Representatives from the three countries, meeting in Moscow, also agreed to invite the Afghan government to such talks in the future, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. ‘(The three countries) expressed particular concern about the rising activity in the country of extremist groups including the Afghan branch of IS,’ ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters after the meeting. The United States, which still has nearly 10,000 troops in Afghanistan more than 15 years after the Islamist Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces, was not invited to the Moscow talks.” Haaretz: Shin Bet: Two Israelis Plotted Attack Against Soldiers “The Shin Bet security service has arrested two Arab residents of the Negev on suspicion of involvement in a plot to attack Israel Defense Force troops to avenge in the outlawing of the Israeli Islamic movement's northern branch last year by the Israeli government. News of the arrests was announced on Tuesday in an investigation prompted by information that resulted in the arrest of three other suspects, all Negev residents, who had been detained on suspicion of trafficking in weapons to be used in the alleged plot.” The Daily Caller: Turkish Intelligence Agents Funneled Weapons To ISIS, Says Captured Terrorist “Turkish intelligence officers provided Islamic State members with weapons and allowed ambulances to drive wounded terrorists to Turkish hospitals, according to a captured ISIS fighter. The Turkish Intelligence Agency, also known as the MIT, allegedly provided ISIS militants with weapons as they crossed the Turkish border into Syria, according to a captured ISIS terrorist known only as ‘M.H.’ He claimed that the weapons were handed out near Tal Abyad, a Syrian town located on the Turkish border. ‘After going to Tal Abyad, we went to the Turkey-Tal Abyad border in two civilian cars at midnight. We were ten people in two pick-up cars,’ M.H. told the Firat News Agency, a Kurdish news outlet based in Amsterdam.” Deutsche Welle: Belgium Police Thwart Six Terror Attacks Since 2014: Report “In the past two years Belgium authorities foiled six terror attacks, its head of judicial police Eric Jacobs in Brussels said in an interview published in the daily La Dernieure Heure on Tuesday. In March 2015 terrorists linkedto the so-called ‘Islamic State’ killed 32 people in the county's capital Brussels during attack on the city's subway and airport. Jacobs told the daily publication that the number of potentially violent groups had multiplied in recent years. ‘There are more than 200 nationalities in the capital. There is not only Daesh (an acronym for IS). There are other radical movements,’ he said. Since the Brussels attack, an influx of tips has flowed into police departments and intelligence services, presenting a major challenge in classifying threats.” New York Times: Dozens Of Boko Haram Fighters Surrender In Southern Niger “Dozens of Boko Haram fighters have given themselves up to authorities in southern Niger, the interior minister said, days after the Islamist group suffered key losses over the border in Nigeria. "Thirty-one young people from Diffa, who were enrolled a few years ago in Boko Haram, decided to surrender," minister Mohamed Bazoum wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, above pictures of him touring the area near Nigeria's northeast border. The fighters arrived in the remote desert town of Diffa in groups and were being held by local authorities. "I learned that the first who surrendered were not arrested, and I surrendered," a former Boko Haram combatant told national television.” Aljazeera: Army Searching For Chibok Girls Seized By Boko Haram “After the Nigerian army claimed victory over Boko Haram in the armed group's forest stronghold, a commander at the forefront of the battle says the search is still on for the missing Chibok girls. The army captured the Sambisa Forest in the country's east over the weekend. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu, the army commander, said that while his soldiers had made significant gains, they had not been able to track down the missing girls who were captured by Boko Haram in April 2014. About 200 of the 276 Chibok girls who were taken remain missing. Some were believed to be in the Sambisa Forest.” Reuters: Bangladesh Arrests Five Suspected Islamists 'Plotting New Year Attack' “Police in Bangladesh have arrested five suspected Islamist militants believed to be plotting to attack New Year celebrations, a counter-terrorism police chief said on Wednesday. The five were believed to be members of a faction of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) group, which was blamed for an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July in which 22 people were killed, most of them foreigners. "They planned to attack on New Year's Eve," Monirul Islam, head of the counter-terrorism police unit, told a news conference. Islam declined to elaborate when asked about the militants' target and how they planned to attack but said police had also seized 60 kg (132 lb) of explosives, when the five were detained in overnight raids in the capital.” United States The New York Times: John Kerry, in a Final, Pointed Plea, Will Outline a Vision of Mideast Peace “In a last-chance effort to shape the outlines of a Middle East peace deal, Secretary of State John Kerry is to outline in a speech on Wednesday the Obama administration’s vision of a final Israeli-Palestinian accord based on bitter lessons learned from an effort that collapsed in 2014. A senior State Department official said that Mr. Kerry, who will be out of office in three weeks, would use his remarks to ‘address some of the misleading critiques’ directed at the Obama administration. That was a clear reference to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who has charged that the United States ‘orchestrated’ a United Nations Security Council resolution last week condemning Israel’s continued building of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The United States abstained from the resolution, infuriating Mr. Netanyahu.” Syria Reuters: Russia Says Syrian Government And Opposition In Talks “Russia's foreign minister on Tuesday said the Syrian government was consulting with the opposition ahead of possible peace talks, while a Saudi-backed opposition group said it knew nothing of the negotiations but supported a ceasefire. In an interview with Interfax news agency, Sergei Lavrov did not say where the consultations were taking place or which opposition groups were taking part. Russia, Iran and Turkey said last week they were ready to help broker a peace deal after holding talks in Moscow where they adopted a declaration setting out the principles any agreement should adhere to.” Reuters: Syrian Opposition Urges Rebels To Cooperate In Ceasefire Efforts “The Syrian opposition's main political body on Tuesday urged rebel groups to cooperate with ‘sincere regional efforts’ to reach a ceasefire but said it had not been invited to any conference, referring to a meeting in Kazakhstan proposed by Russia. Riad Hijab, general coordinator for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), said confidence-building measures were needed to create an atmosphere for political transition talks which should be held in Geneva and sponsored by the United Nations. ‘We support the shifts in positions of some international powers and the positive, sincere efforts that could represent a starting point for realising the Syrian people's aspirations, by reaching an agreement that brings security and stability,’ Hijab said in a written statement distributed to the press.” The Huffington Post: Syrian Medical Facilities Were Attacked More Than 250 Times This Year “The first airstrike hit at 9:02 on the morning of Feb. 15. As rescue teams dashed to the scene, warplanes circled back for a ‘double tap,’ pummeling the isolated hospital in northwestern Syria a second time, minutes later. And a third. And a fourth. Twenty-five people died, including nine health care workers and five children. Staff and volunteers who survived the onslaught at the Doctors Without Borders-supported facility rushed victims to the next closest emergency center in a nearby town. The bombs followed. It’s an utterly grim and tragic irony: Hospitals are now among the most dangerous places in Syria. There have been 252 attacks on Syrian health care centers in 2016 so far, according to the Syrian American Medical Society, a nonprofit organization.” Iraq BBC: Iraq Gunmen Kidnap Campaigning Female Journalist “Gunmen have kidnapped an Iraqi female journalist who has campaigned against widespread corruption in the country. Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi was taken from her home in the Saidiya district of the capital, Baghdad, on Monday night by men claiming to be security personnel. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered security forces to ‘exert the utmost effort’ to save her. On Monday, Ms Qaisi wrote an article in which she expressed anger that armed groups could act with impunity. The article, published by the Aklaam website, criticised an interior ministry officer who she said had assaulted the principal of a school in the southern city of Nasiriya for refusing to punish a pupil who had quarrelled with his daughter.” Turkey Reuters: Turkish Military 'Neutralizes' 44 Islamic State Militants In Northern Syria “The Turkish military said on Wednesday it had ‘neutralized’ 44 Islamic State militants and wounded 117 as part of its operation in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab. In a statement, the military also said seven rebels had been wounded in clashes over the past day, while 157 Islamic State targets had been struck by artillery and other weaponry. Rebels supported by Turkish troops have laid siege to al-Bab for weeks under the ‘Euphrates Shield’ operation launched by Turkey nearly four months ago to sweep the Sunni hardliners and Kurdish fighters from its Syrian border.” Deutsche Welle: Turkey: 'Worst Country' For Media Freedom In 2016 “Turkey jailed more journalists than any other country this year. According to the Turkish Journalists' Association, 148 journalists are currently imprisoned and many media outlets have been shut down. Turkey has now dropped two places in RSF's Press Freedom Report, and is in 151st place out of 180 countries. Ahead of Turkey are Tajikistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC), 148 journalists are currently in prison and the number of journalists on trial are difficult to determine, as hundreds of journalists are being tried on many charges including espionage, aiding and abetting terrorist organizations, and insulting public officials.” Reuters: First Trial Opens Of Alleged Turkey Coup Participants “The first criminal trial related to a summer coup in Turkey started on Tuesday as 29 police officers faced sentences of up to life in prison on charges of involvement in the failed attempt to overthrow the government. Some 40,000 people have been arrested since the July 15 putsch, which killed around 240 people, in a crackdown targeting the military, police, civil service and private sector. More than 100,000 have been sacked or suspended. The officers face a range of charges, according to a copy of the indictment obtained by Reuters. Some are accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, and others of membership of a terrorist organisation.” Afghanistan Reuters: Blast In Afghan Capital Wounds Member Of Parliament “A bomb attack targeted a member of Afghanistan's parliament in the capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, wounding him and several other people, officials said. Fakori Behishti, a member of parliament from Bamyan province, and his son were wounded in the blast, an official with the parliament's security department said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which destroyed the vehicle in which Behishti was traveling, badly damaged other vehicles and shattered the windows of nearby shops. Last week, another member of parliament was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed seven people. The member of parliament survived.” Deutsche Welle: An Afghanistan Conference Without Afghanistan “Afghanistan has expressed concern over a meeting in Moscow between China, Pakistan and Russia over the Afghan conflict. Experts say Pakistan is trying to forge an alliance to counter an Indian-Afghan partnership. Ahmad Shekib Mostaghni, a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday that his country had not been invited to a high-level Afghanistan conference in Moscow. Representatives of Pakistan, China and Russia are meeting in Moscow to discuss the Afghan conflict but they have excluded Afghan officials from the conference. Mostaghni said that regardless of the intentions of the participants, excluding Kabul from the talks would not help the situation in the country.” Yemen The Guardian: 40 Killed In Yemen Anti-Rebel Offensive “At least 28 Huthi insurgents and 12 Yemeni soldiers were killed Tuesday in the southern province of Shabwa as government forces pushed to capture a rebel enclave, military officials said. The fighting flared when forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi attacked rebels in Bayhan district, on the border between Shabwa and Marib provinces. Bayhan is the only part of Shabwa province still controlled by the Iran-backed rebels after government forces supported by the Saudi-led Arab coalition last year expelled them from five southern provinces.” Middle East The Jerusalem Post: Christians Laud Freedom Of Worship In Israel “The annual reception hosted by President Reuven Rivlin for spiritual and lay leaders of Christian communities in Israel has not only been an opportunity for the exchange of holiday greetings, but also for Christians to air their complaints via Greek Patriarch Theophilos III. Though couched in the most diplomatic language to soften the barb, the Patriarch’s speech invariably contained elements of the dissatisfaction of the Christian community with the status quo. Addressing Rivlin directly, Theophilos said: ‘We take the opportunity of this holiday gathering to express our gratitude to you for the firmness with which you defend the freedoms that lie at the heart of this democracy – especially the freedom of worship." Nigeria CNN: Freed Chibok Girls Return Home For Joyful Christmas “It was a journey they had waited nearly three long years to take. Ten weeks after being released by Boko Haram, 21 freed Chibok schoolgirls and a baby returned home this month to celebrate Christmas with their families for the first time since they were snatched by the terror group. The April 2014 kidnapping of nearly 300 girls from a boarding school in Chibok sparked global outrage a #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media. CNN accompanied the 21 girls as they made the journey from the capital Abuja, where they have been undergoing medical and psychological assessments since they were released by Boko Haram nearly two months ago in a deal brokered by an unnamed Swiss contingent and the Nigerian authorities.” Daily Caller: Irate Nigerians Lynch Failed Boko Haram Female Suicide Bomber “Nigerian market-goers lynched a failed female suicide bomber after she tried to blow up a crowded cattle market in the northeastern part of the country. The lynched woman was reportedly part of a team of suicide bombers who planned to inflict mass casualties in the area. When the woman’s vest failed to detonate, the crowd descended on her until she died. Boko Haram killed nearly 7,000 civilians throughout 2015, making it the deadliest terrorist group in the world. Boko Haram has a tenuous relationship with the Islamic State, and has been beset by tactical setbacks throughout 2016, most recently on Saturday.” Deutsche Welle: Boko Haram 'Crushed' But Suicide Bombings Continue “As 2016 draws to a close, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is claiming Boko Haram has finally been defeated, but suicide bombers are still slipping into crowded public places where they maim and kill. A female suicide bomber has attacked a cattle market in the city of Maiduguri in Nigeria's Borno State. She was the only person killed in the blast, police said. The authorities also said a second woman, who was also in possession of a bomb at the Kasuwan Shanu market, was ‘lynched by an irate mob in the vicinity.’ Security forces later detonated her device. Nobody has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack but it bears the hallmark of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram and comes just two days after President Muhammadu Buhari said the jihadist group had been finally crushed and driven from its last enclave in the Sambisa Forest.” BBC: 'Nigerian Troops To Train' In Boko Haram's Ex-Bastion    “Nigeria's military will turn the Sambisa forest, a former bastion of militant Islamist group Boko Haram, into a training centre for its troops, the army chief has said. This would prevent the militants from rebuilding a presence in the area, Gen Tukur Buratai added. The military overran the militants' last camp in Sambisa on Friday. It had become their main base after they lost control of urban strongholds in north-eastern Borno state in 2015. Many of the militants are thought to have fled to areas closer to the border with Niger and Chad before the camp fell, says BBC Hausa service editor Jimeh Saleh.” Germany Daily Mail: Seven Migrants Arrested After A Sleeping Homeless Man Was Set On Fire On Christmas Eve At A Berlin Subway Station  “Seven migrants have been arrested after a homeless man was set on fire on Christmas Eve at a Berlin subway station. The men, aged 15 to 21, are suspected of torching the victim as he slept on a platform bench at Schönleinstraße station. Six of the suspects are Syrian and one is Lybian and an attempted murder investigation has been launched. Thomas Neuendorf, the vice chief of the press office at Berlin Police, told Bild that detectives believe the 21-year-old to have been the main perpetrator. He, along with his alleged accomplices, were arrested on yesterday. After torching the homeless man, the suspected assailants hopped onto a train to make their getaway. CCTV footage captured them watching and laughing as the man was burning on the platform.” The Wall Street Journal: New Berlin Crime Adds Fuel To German Debate Over Surveillance And Immigration “A week after a deadly terror attack at a Christmas market, another crime in the German capital is feeding a debate over how the country balances security and civil liberties. Early Christmas morning, police said, a group of young people tried to set fire to a sleeping homeless man in a Berlin subway station. Passersby extinguished the flames before the man was hurt. By Tuesday, the suspects in the case had been detained. They were asylum seekers—six from Syria and one from Libya, according to police. Authorities said all seven either turned themselves in or were taken into custody after the publication of security-camera images.” France Sputnik: France, Russia Share Position On Counter-Terrorism, Climate, Libya - Ambassador “French Ambassador to Russia said that Moscow and Paris are united in the fight against terrorism, climate change and the settlement of the situation in Libya. Moscow and Paris are united in the fight against terrorism, climate change and the settlement of the situation in Libya, French Ambassador to Russia Jean-Maurice Ripert said. He added that there were differences on several issues, like Syria and Ukraine, but Paris and Moscow kept working together to overcome them. France saw its relations with Russia sour in 2014 amid the conflict in Ukraine and the European bloc's anti-Russian sanctions. In April, the French National Assembly approved an The Republican (LR) party-proposed resolution calling on the government to lift the sanctions.” Financing of Terrorism Shorouk News: Egypt: State Council Rejects Draft Law On "Terrorist Groups' Funds Committee" “Judicial sources familiar with the affairs of Egypt's State Council revealed that its highest administrative authority, the Special Board, informed the government and the House of Representatives it had rejected a draft law on terrorist groups' funds committee. This law was proposed by the Ministry of Justice with the aim of transferring the authority to review disputes on the appropriation of assets from the State Administrative Court to the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters. Previously, the Council of Ministers forwarded the bill to the Council of State to receive its opinion. This was pursuant to Article 185 of the Egyptian Constitution, which obliges judicial authorities to express their opinion concerning laws which affect its work. The sources pointed out that in its response to the government, the State Council expressed the opinion that the draft law is tainted with suspicions of unconstitutionality. This is especially relevant with regard to the transfer of powers to review administrative disputes related to appeals on decisions issued by the {Brotherhood} Asset Freeze Committee, powers which are granted to the courts of the State Council under Article 190 of the Constitution.” ISIS Akhbar Alaan: ISIS Occupation Of Palmyra Is A Severe Blow To Assad's Regime “ISIS's occupation of the city of Palmyra and its control over it and the surrounding area constitute a severe blow to the Assad regime in the political, military and economic spheres. The vast economic losses struck the Syrians' lives from day one. The effects of this are evident in the energy and transport sectors as well as in commodity prices. This ancient city, strategically located in the center of the Syrian desert, is surrounded by gas and oil fields. Until recently, the regime controlled fields in Palmyra region such as Hajjar, Shaer, Al-Mahr and Jazal. These fields supplied the regime's power plants with at least one half of their gas needs, especially in Damascus, Homs, Hama and the Coastal region. This is in addition to the domestic supply of cooking gas,  plus tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day, which helped in the refining of such derivatives as diesel and gasoline in Homs and Banias refineries.” Muslim Brotherhood Misrday: Egypt: Checks For Muslim Brotherhood Hidden In Book Jackets “Informed sources have disclosed that Egyptian security agencies, in cooperation with the Egyptian Foreign Press and Publications Regulatory Authority, uncovered "dollar checks" smuggled into the country to finance the Muslim Brotherhood. They were found concealed in book jackets contained in a personal package received from abroad. The sources pointed out that the Minister of the Interior, Magdy Abdul Ghaffar, forwarded the case to the National Security Agency to uncover the circumstances and trace those who were on the receiving end of the financing. The minister added that it was important to arrest the suspected cells and prevent them from carrying out terrorist schemes, especially after investigations disclosed that money {from abroad} is being used to finance hostile acts against the regime. The sources noted that the security authorities are determined to dry up financing of the Brotherhood and prevent {the future} arrival of funds to carry out terrorist acts against Egyptian citizens.” Elwehda: Political Activist: Muslim Brotherhood Behind The Drug Crisis In The Egyptian Market “Tamarod Movement representative in Dakahlia, Ms. Doaa Khalifa, accused Dr. Ahmed Farouq Shaaban, Secretary General of the Pharmacists' Union, of being a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who defected from it and joined MisrAlQawia Party (Strong Egypt Party) led by Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh. She stated during an interview with TV presenter Wael Al-Ibrashi that the Board of the Pharmacists' Union in Dakahlia is controlled {completely} by the Muslim Brotherhood, with the exception of the Union's financial officer. Ms. Khalifa explained that the Brotherhood is behind the critical drug shortage in the Egyptian market, and urged the Attorney General to investigate Brotherhood members inside the Pharmacists' Union. She claimed they are behind the drug crisis to embarrass the state.” Houthi Al-Ain: Houthis' Policy May Lead To Closure Of Yemeni Banks “Funds belonging to Yemeni depositors, which are supposedly safe in local banks, are at risk if the government does not intervene urgently to insure them. This is amid signs that some banks are fast approaching an official declaration of bankruptcy, according to claims voiced by economists and financial experts. Economic expert, Dr. Mohammed Halpop, blames the Houthis for all the economic and financial troubles in Yemen. He emphasized that "the {Houthi} coup is the main reason for the deterioration of the economic situation in Yemen. This has led to the closure of commercial banks. Actions carried out by the coup leaders and their extravagant expenditures on their 'war effort' have resulted in a lack of public confidence in the Yemeni banking system. Depositors have therefore rushed to withdraw their money, resulting in a significant shortfall in liquidity." Halpop described banks under the control of the Houthis as being worse off than banks located in liberated areas. He attributed this to "underdeveloped economic behavior" by the Houthis due to their lack of understanding of financial matters. He mentioned that already one year ago there were warnings they would "detonate" a public debt problem.”