Fight for control of Yemen’s banks between rebels, government threatens to further wreck economy

By FATMA KHALED and AHMED AL-HAJ
Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government are locked in a fight for control of the country’s banks that experts warn is threatening to further wreck an economy already crippled by nearly a decade of war. The rivalry over the banks is throwing Yemen’s financial system into deeper turmoil. The Houthis already control the north and center of the country and the government running the south uses different currency notes with different exchange rates. They also run rival central banks. They launched punitive measures against banks in each other’s territory over the past week.