Yemen: US sanctions Saleh and Houthis

Yemen: US sanctions Saleh and Houthis
The former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh hit with US sanctions, along with two leaders of the Houthi movement, days after they were sanctioned by the UN.
1 min read
10 November, 2014
Saleh retains a lot of support in Yemen [AFP]
The United States hit Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and two allied Houthi rebel commanders with sanctions on Monday, two days after Saleh turned his back on the new government.

The US treasury said it was blacklisting Saleh, Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim, known as Abu Ali al-Hakim, and Abd al-Khalid al-Houthi - the brother of the Houthi movement's leader, Abd al-Malik.

The three were sanctioned "for engaging in acts that directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen".

The move comes after the United Nations Security Council, on the recommendation of the US, sanctioned the same three figures, preventing them from leaving Yemen and freezing their assets.

Yemen President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi swore in a new government on Sunday, despite both Saleh and the Houthis calling for a boycott.