Gulf states for UN sanctions on Houthi chief, Saleh's son
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Gulf countries are making a push for UN sanctions to be imposed on the leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels and the ex-president's son, according to a draft resolution that could come up for a vote this week.
Jordan circulated the draft resolution prepared by Gulf states to the Security Council late on Monday as Russia stepped up its criticism of the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen.
The draft resolution, obtained by AFP, demands that Houthis withdraw from Sana'a and all other areas seized since 2013 and slaps an arms embargo on the Houthi leaders and their allies.
But the seven-page text makes no reference to the Saudi-led military strikes and to Russian calls for humanitarian pauses in the fighting that has left more than 540 dead in nearly three weeks.
The resolution asks the 15-member council to add Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al Huthi and ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh's eldest son, Ahmed, to a sanctions list, imposing a global travel ban and an assets freeze on the two men.
The council imposed targeted sanctions in November on the former president and two Houthi military commanders, Abd Al Khaliq Al Huthi and Abdullah Yahya Al Hakim, to punish the Houthis for seizing Sana'a two months earlier.
Diplomats said the draft resolution could come up for a vote this week, although it remained uncertain if Russia would support the measure.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said he was "dismayed, to put it mildly" by the military campaign being waged by the Saudi-led nine-country coalition, which is seeking to push back the Iranian-backed Houthis.
"We value our relations with Saudi Arabia, and with other coalition members, but they came to the Security Council post-factum, and started asking for approval of what they had begun," Lavrov said on Monday. "It would be impossible for us to approve of one side in the conflict, and to practically declare the other side outlaws," he said.
The draft resolution before the Security Council comes amid mounting international alarm over the civilian toll from the air campaign and reports from aid agencies that they are unable to reach those in need. The draft resolution "reaffirms the need for all parties to ensure the safety of civilians" and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid as well as evacuations.
Meanwhile, the United States is speeding up arms supplies and bolstering intelligence sharing with a Saudi-led alliance. US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had also set up a coordination centre in the kingdom. "Saudi Arabia is sending a strong message to the Houthis and their allies that they cannot overrun Yemen by force," he told reporters in Riyadh.
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