UN Security Council sanctions three leading Houthis

The assault on oil-producing Marib began in February and has intensified in recent weeks. (Reuters)

• The trio were targeted over their involvement in orchestrating attacks on Marib and Saudi Arabia, and violations of international law
• Their illegal activity includes the smuggling of weapons, and seizing the assets of detainees to fund the militia, the council said

NEW YORK: The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on three leading members of the Houthi militia on Tuesday.
The individuals were targeted for “directly threatening the peace, security and stability of Yemen” through their roles in the offensive against Marib, attacks against Saudi Arabia, and violations of international law by appropriating public assets to arm the militia.
The council said Saleh Mesfer Saleh Al-Shaer, the Houthis’ assistant minister of defense for logistics, has helped the militia to smuggle weapons to arm itself. It added that in his role as “judicial custodian,” he has also for the past three years been directly involved in the widespread practice of illegally confiscating the assets of people detained in Houthi prisons or forced to flee the country.
He “has used his authority and a Sana’a-based network comprising members of his family, a special criminal court, the national security bureau, the central bank, the registrar services of the Yemeni Ministry of Trade and Industry, and some private banks in order to arbitrarily dispossess selected private individuals and entities of their wealth without any due judicial process or a possibility of redress,” the council added.
Muhammad Abd Al-Karim Al-Ghamari, the Houthi military chief of staff was added to the sanctions list because of the leading role he played in masterminding militia attacks. The Security Council said that in addition to posing a direct threat to peace, security and stability in Yemen, including in Marib, he is involved in cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.
The third individual targeted by the sanctions is Yusuf Al-Madani, commander of the Houthi forces in Hodeidah, Hajjah, Al-Mahwit and Raymah, who this year was assigned to the offensive in Marib.
Yemen has been ravaged by civil war since the Iran-backed Houthis took over Sanaa in 2014. They have repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire.
The assault on oil-producing Marib began in February and has intensified in recent weeks. It has caused the displacement of millions of people who sought refuge there after fleeing fighting in other parts of the country.
The Yemeni government and Saudi officials have warned that should Marib fall to the Houthis, it could become a launchpad for further strikes against Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure and other civilian targets.