YBE hoped to halt Bulgarian encroachment in Macedonia by proving their loyalty to the German authorities and in turn gaining their support. YBE member and prefect of Pella Georgios Themelis, issued a declaration which stated that whoever fights the Germans is an enemy of Greece. Their pleas fell on deaf ears, as the Germans continued to tolerate if not encourage Bulgarian efforts. YBE then shifted its focus towards smuggling fighters into the Middle East, where they were to join the Free Greek Forces of the Greek government-in-exile. In September, the ELAS-led Drama uprising failed and the population was subjected to mass reprisals. Hundreds of Greeks were killed, dozens of villages were razed and thousands of people were made refugees. YBE’s persistence with non-violent resistance proved to be unpopular, costing it many defections. In early 1943, agents of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) landed in Greece to execute Operation Animals, an Allied diversionary operation. The British also sought to foster the expansion of the right wing National Republican Greek League (EDES) in Epirus and YBE in Macedonia, to counterbalance ELAS.