UN Security Council sanctions 3 more rebel leaders in Yemen

ISTANBUL

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three Houthi rebel leaders in Yemen.

The list of sanctions include rebel leaders Muhammad Abd Al-Karim Al-Ghamari, Yusuf Al-Madani, and Saleh Mesfer Saleh.

In a statement, the Sanctions Committee said the three personnel were listed for their "involvement in and leadership of Houthi military campaigns that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Yemen.”

According to the committee, Al-Ghamari, as a military chief of the Houthi General Staff, plays a leading role in orchestrating rebel military efforts that are directly threatening the peace, security and stability of Yemen, as well as cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.

He most recently took charge of the large-scale Houthi offensive against Yemeni government-held territory in Marib province.

Al-Madani, meanwhile, is a prominent leader of Houthi forces and the commander of rebel fighters in the provinces of Hudaydah, Hajjah, Al Mahwit, and Raymah, the committee said.

Saleh Mesfer Saleh Al Shaer serves as an assistant to the Houthi Minister of Defense for Logistics. He assisted Houthi rebels in acquiring smuggled arms and weapons, the committee said.

According to the committee, Al Shaer is listed in connection with his direct involvement since early 2018 in the widespread and unlawful appropriation of assets and entities owned by private individuals under arrest by the Houthis or forced to take refuge outside of Yemen.

The new sanctioned leaders bring to nine the number of Houthis on the sanctions list of the UN Security Council.

In March, the US Treasury Department listed Houthi leaders Mansur Al-Sa’adi and Ahmad Ali Ahsan al-Hamzi to its sanctions list.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict in Yemen has so far claimed the lives of 233,000 people.