Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2014 21:55:33 +0100
Yemen: US requests UN sanctions on ex-president Saleh, senior Houthi leaders
Security Council to discuss Washington's request on special session on
Tuesday
Written by : <http://www.aawsat.net/author/mohamed-ali-saleh> Mohammad Ali
Salih
on : Monday, 3 Nov, 2014
Washington DC and Sana'a, Asharq Al-Awsat-The United States has asked the UN
Security Council to impose sanctions on former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah
Saleh and two leading members of the Shi'ite Houthi movement currently in
control of the country's capital, Sana'a, and other parts of the country,
for "threatening the peace and stability" of Yemen and obstructing the
political transition process drawn up following Saleh's departure from power
in 2012.
The proposed sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes on Saleh and
Abdul Khaleq Al-Houthi-brother of Houthi movement leader Abdul Malik
Al-Houthi and first deputy of its affiliated Ansar Allah group-and Abdullah
Yehya Al-Hakim, the second-most senior figure in Ansar Allah and believed to
have led the recent advance by the group in the cities of Sana'a, Amran and
Ibb.
Since taking control of Sana'a in September, the group has been accused of
storming government and military buildings and facilities, as well as
carrying out attacks on rival political movements and their leaders.
There have also been widespread allegations that the group has allied with
Saleh and former members of his regime still present at the highest echelons
of the military and political establishment. The allegations claim this has
facilitated the Houthis' rapid control of several areas in the country, as
well as the seemingly inexplicable absence of security forces to block the
Houthi advance.
A statement on Sunday from the US administration said that since his ouster
in 2012, Saleh "had reportedly become one of the primary supporters of the
[Houthi] rebellion," and accused the former president of being "behind the
attempts to cause chaos" throughout the country.
The statement added that since September, when the Houthi takeover began,
Saleh has "reportedly [been] inciting instability in Yemen" by using the
Houthis "to not only delegitimize the central government, but also create
enough instability to stage a coup."
It also said Washington had received reports in September that an order had
been given by Abdul Khaleq Al-Houthi for armed members of the group to
attack the US embassy in Sana'a.
The statement accused Hakim of organizing military operations seeking to
stage a coup against the Yemeni state and of being in charge of around 300
armed members of the movement currently stationed in Sana'a and other areas
of the country. The US accuses these men of carrying out acts of violence
against citizens and rival political figures under Hakim's leadership.
A senior figure at the UN, who requested anonymity because he was not
authorized to brief the media, told Asharq Al-Awsat the UN Security Council
will be convening a special session on Tuesday to discuss Washington's
request.
The official did not go into detail regarding the UN's view of the request,
saying only that it had been "expected" due to the current events in the
country.
He added that the Security Council had in February agreed to draw up
resolution 2140, as part of the work of the Council's Committee on Yemen, to
impose sanctions on anyone obstructing the country's political transition or
committing human rights abuses, but that "the situation had not yet reached
the stage" where such sanctions could be imposed.
In a statement following a special session held on Sunday, the Security
Council called on the Houthi-affiliated Ansar Allah to withdraw from areas
currently under its control, and return all weapons seized from military
armories to the state.
Meanwhile, the Arab League called on all Yemeni political factions to work
together to abide by the Peace and Cooperation agreement signed between
different groups, including the Houthis, and President Abd Rabbuh Mansur
Hadi in September following the Houthi takeover of the capital.
The agreement stipulates that the Shi'ite group must leave all government
and military buildings and installations and return all weapons seized back
to the state.
However, reports from Sana'a and other parts of the country suggest the
Houthis have continued to seize further state buildings and are using their
own volunteer groups to administer security in areas now under their
control.
The Arab League also stressed the importance of forming a new government as
soon as possible. Yemen's main political factions, including the Houthis,
agreed on Saturday to task new Prime Minister Khaled Bahah and President
Hadi with forming a new government.
The appointment of a new prime minister and the formation of new
technocratic government were part of the Houthis' original demands back in
September, when the group's members staged massive rallies throughout
Sana'a.
Meanwhile, in another example of the violence that continues to plague
Yemen, the leader of a liberal political party seen as close to the Houthis
was assassinated in Sana'a on Sunday.
According to the Yemeni state news agency SABA, Mohamed Abdelmalik
Al-Motawakal of the Union of Popular Forces party was shot dead by two men
on a motorcycle while walking in a street close to his home.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the killing, it follows a
number of attacks on Houthi targets by the radical Sunni Al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which regards the Shi'ite movement as heretics.
AQAP, which has assassinated dozens of Yemeni officials and members of the
security forces in recent years, continues to battle government forces
elsewhere in Yemen, and claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a
Houthi rally in Sana'a in early October, which killed almost 50 people.
Hamdan Al-Rahbi contributed additional reporting from Sana'a.
<http://www.aawsat.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Ali-Abdullah-Saleh.jpg>
Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh talks during an interview with
Reuters in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, on May 21, 2014. (Reuters/Khaled
Abdullah)
Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh talks during an interview with
Reuters in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, on May 21, 2014. (Reuters/Khaled
Abdullah)
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)