Tunisian Arrested on Suspicion of Plotting to Assassinate President

Tunisian President Kais Saied. (AP)
Tunisian President Kais Saied. (AP)
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Tunisian Arrested on Suspicion of Plotting to Assassinate President

Tunisian President Kais Saied. (AP)
Tunisian President Kais Saied. (AP)

A Tunisian has been arrested on suspicion of plotting to assassinate President Kais Saied, revealed Tunisian security forces.

Sources in the capital, Tunis, said the “lone wolf” suspect was a Tunisian member of the ISIS terrorist group and had infiltrated the country from neighboring Libya.

Security forces in the city of Monastir arrested a man who was inciting to assassinate Saied. He had posted his “terrorist” incitement on Facebook, said the Interior Ministry.

This is not the first time that the president has revealed a plot to kill him.

He had previously spoken of a plot to poison his food and the presidency had received an envelope containing a poisonous substance.

Saied had on Friday accused political forces of plotting his assassination.

“I fear no one but God. If I were to die, I will die a martyr,” he declared.

Moreover, he said some sides were “conspiring” to turn foreign countries against the president and Tunisia.

They will be thwarted by the law, he vowed.

Saied also criticized political Islam, saying some sides claim to adhere to Islam, but often resort to lies in their political life.

A spokesman for the moderate Islamist Ennahda refuted the president’s hints that the party was plotting to kill him.

Fathi Al-Ayadi called on the security and judicial agencies to investigate the president’s claims to reassure the people.



US Imposes Sanctions on Yemen Bank, Citing Support to Houthis

Signage is seen at the United States Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington, DC, US, August 29, 2020. (Reuters)
Signage is seen at the United States Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington, DC, US, August 29, 2020. (Reuters)
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US Imposes Sanctions on Yemen Bank, Citing Support to Houthis

Signage is seen at the United States Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington, DC, US, August 29, 2020. (Reuters)
Signage is seen at the United States Department of the Treasury headquarters in Washington, DC, US, August 29, 2020. (Reuters)

The United States unveiled sanctions Thursday on a Yemen bank, including its key leaders, citing its support for Houthi militants in that country.

The designation of the International Bank of Yemen (IBY) complements a government effort "to stop Iran-backed Houthi attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea," said the US Treasury Department.

The Houthis launched an armed coup in 2014, seizing control of the capital Sanaa and other several provinces.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted shipping lanes using missiles and drones in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where a brutal war has raged since October that year.

"Financial institutions like IBY are critical to the Houthis' efforts to access the international financial system and threaten both the region and international commerce," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender in a statement.

The official said the US government was "committed to working with the internationally recognized government of Yemen."

Thursday's action follows a designation in January of the Yemen Kuwait Bank for Trade and Investment.

In a separate statement, the US State Department added that Washington was "committed to disrupting Houthi financial networks and banking access."

Besides the IBY, key leaders targeted in Thursday's actions are Kamal Hussain Al Jebry, Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi and Abdulkader Ali Bazara, the Treasury Department said.

As a result of sanctions, property and interests in property of designated individuals in the United States are blocked and must be reported.