AL-MUKALLA: Yemen's internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council and political parties have hailed a UN decision to lift sanctions against former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his son.
The UN Security Council's Yemen Sanctions Committee removed both men from its list of sanctioned individuals and companies on Tuesday, sparking celebrations among Yemenis, particularly loyalists of the former president.
A decade ago, the UN Security Council sanctioned Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years before being ousted in 2011 after protests inspired by the Arab Spring, and his son Ahmed, commander of the elite Republican Guard and later Yemen's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, for obstructing political transition in Yemen and support the Houthis in their expansion across the country.
In late 2017, Saleh switched sides and launched a military uprising against the Houthis in Sanaa, which ended days after he was killed.
The Yemeni government recently asked the UN sanctions committee to waive sanctions against Saleh and his son, who live in the United Arab Emirates.
Yemeni government officials and political party leaders were among those who applauded the UN committee's decision.
Tareq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, the former president's nephew and former commander of his bodyguards who is also a PLC member, praised the presidential council, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for persuading the UN committee to lift its sanctions against the two individuals.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the (president's) leadership council for all their efforts, as well as to our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” he said.
According to the official news agency, PLC member Othman Mujalli contacted Ahmed to congratulate him, as well as to express appreciation to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and to rally Yemenis to fight the Houthis.
Former Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmer, who supported anti-Saleh rallies in 2011, praised the UN's decision in a post on X on Thursday.
Lieutenant General Sagheer bin Aziz, Chief of Staff of the Yemeni Army, and Sultan Al-Barakani, Speaker of the Parliament, also expressed joy at the move.
This comes as the US Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions against two people and four companies headquartered in China and Yemen for helping the Houthi militia obtain components for weapons used in its attacks on ships.
“The Houthis have sought to exploit key jurisdictions such as China (People's Republic of China) and Hong Kong to purchase and transport the components necessary for their lethal weapons systems,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. in a statement.
Sanctions were imposed on Ahmed Khaled Yahya Al-Shahare and Maher Yahya Muhammad Mutahar Al-Kinai, while Al-Shahari United Corp. Ltd., Guangzhou Alshahari United Corp. Ltd., Hong Kong Alshahari United Corp. Ltd. and Yemen Telecommunication Asset Co. The technology was also blacklisted.
In response to Houthi attacks on ships in international shipping lanes, the United States led a coalition of naval task forces to provide protection, designated the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, imposed sanctions on companies and individuals that helped the militia obtain weapons, and launched strikes against Houthi- targets in Yemen.