UN Security Council imposes arms embargo on Yemen’s Houthis

UNITED NATIONS // The UN Security Council has imposed an arms embargo on the leaders of Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels, as well as the country’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and his son.

The resolution, approved in a 14-0 vote on Tuesday, is aimed at ending Houthi military action against supporters of the current president, Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, who was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Shortly after the vote, the US Treasury put Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi and Mr Saleh’s son, Ahmed, on its sanctions blacklist, freezing any assets they have on US property and banning Americans from dealing with them.

Russia abstained from the security council vote, saying that some of its proposals for the resolution, which was drafted by council member Jordan and Gulf states, were not included.

“The co-sponsors refused to include the requirements insisted upon by Russia [for] all sides [in] the conflict to swiftly halt fire and ... begin peace talks,” Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council after the vote.

It comes after a Saudi-led coalition last month launched air strikes against the Iran-allied Houthis. The United States said last week that it is speeding up arms supplies to the coalition.

“We insisted that the arms embargo needs to be comprehensive. It’s well known that Yemen is awash in weapons,” Mr Churkin said. “The adopted resolution should not be used for further escalation of the armed conflict.”

The resolution imposes the arms embargo on five men: Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Al Houthi, second-in-command Abdullah Yahya Al Hakim, military commander Abd Al Khaliq Al Houthi, former president Mr Saleh and his eldest son, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The council called on all countries to inspect cargo headed to the country if there are “reasonable grounds” to believe it contains weapons.

In addition, the council imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on the Houthi leader and Mr Saleh’s son. The same sanctions had already been imposed on the other three men last November.

The resolution demands that all Yemeni parties, especially the Houthis, end violence and quickly resume UN-brokered negotiations aimed at a political transition.

The council asked UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to intensify efforts to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate foreigners, including establishing “humanitarian pauses” in coordination with the government of Yemen.

The vote came as UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for investigations into the high level of civilian casualties that account for almost half of the 736 deaths recorded in the Yemen conflict.

“Such a heavy civilian death toll ought to be a clear indication to all parties to this conflict that there may be serious problems in the conduct of hostilities,” he said.

Mr Al Hussein said attacks on hospitals and on civilians unconnected to the fighting were war crimes.

Iran’s television channel Press TV said on Tuesday that Tehran will submit a four-point peace plan to the UN on Wednesday, but gave no further details.

Speaking in Madrid the same day, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif proposed a peace plan that calls for a ceasefire followed by talks with all sides that would be mediated by foreigners.

Meanwhile, operations were suspended at Yemen’s only gas export terminal on Tuesday after armed tribesmen drove out soldiers guarding the site, accusing them of having links to the Houthis.

The tribesmen pledged not to interfere in operations at the Balhaf plant in the southern province of Shabwa. France’s Total has a stake of almost 40 per cent in the terminal, which is operated by Yemen LNG.

“We have taken control of the security side ... and positioned members of the tribes in points evacuated by the army,” said local tribal chief Nasser Bahaj.

“On the administrative side, employees are still there and we do not interfere in their business.”

Yemen LNG said it had stopped operations at the plant and would start evacuating personnel due to “further degradation of the security situation in the vicinity of Balhaf”.

However, Total stressed that security at the site itself had been maintained.

Also on Tuesday, Yemen’s Al Qaeda affiliate said its ideological leader had been killed in an alleged US drone strike.

Ibrahim Al Rubaish, who in January accused France of surpassing the US as the top enemy of Islam, was killed with several other militants in a “crusade raid” on Monday, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said, apparently referring to a drone attack that killed six people in south-east Yemen.

* Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters