The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Houthi military officials, the US Treasury Department said, taking action over the Iran-backed militias’ offensive to seize Yemen's gas-rich Marib region.
US Special Envoy on Yemen Tim Lenderking earlier on Thursday urged the Houthis to de-escalate and engage seriously with US and UN efforts for a ceasefire needed to end the war, a top foreign policy priority for the Biden administration.
“The Houthis are not winning in Marib. Instead they are putting a great deal of stress on an already very fragile humanitarian situation, they are putting the lives of 1 million internally displaced people ... in danger,” Lenderking said.
He said the United States would impose sanctions on the head of the general staff leading the Houthis Marib offensive, Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari, and on a leader of Houthi forces assigned to the advance, Yusuf al-Madani.
The Treasury in a statement announcing the sanctions accused al-Ghamari of prolonging the war and orchestrating attacks that have harmed civilians.
“As the senior Houthi military official, Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari is directly responsible for attacks on infrastructure that have harmed civilians and now oversees an offensive in Marib that compounds human suffering,” said Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Andrea M. Gacki.
“The United States will continue to hold Houthi leadership accountable for actions that contribute to Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.”
“As the Head of the General Staff of the Houthi armed forces, the most senior commander within the Houthi military leadership structure, al-Ghamari is directly responsible for overseeing Houthi military operations that have destroyed civilian infrastructure and Yemen’s neighbors, specifically Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” she added.
“He directs the procurement and deployment of various weapons, including improvised explosive devices, ammunition, and UAVs. Al-Ghamari has also overseen Houthi UAV and missile attacks against Saudi Arabian targets.
Al-Ghamari reportedly received his military training in Houthi camps run by the Lebanese Hezbollah party and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The US State Department also blacklisted al-Madani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
Al-Madani is a prominent Houthi military leader and is the commander of the fifth military zone in Hodeidah, Hajjah, Mahwit and Raymah.
