Yemen’s Ansarullah says latest US sanctions will prolong war
Yemen’s Ansarullah movement on Wednesday warned that the US sanctions imposed the previous day on two of its military leaders would only prolong the conflict in the improvised Arab country.
President Joe Biden’s administration introduced sanctions on Tuesday on two Houthi leaders, citing their alleged roles in cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and shipping vessels in the Red Sea, AP wrote.
Monsour al-saadi and Ahmed alhamzi were responsible for attacks “impacting Yemeni civilians, bordering nations, and commercial vessels in international waters,” the departments of State and Treasury said.
Mohammed Abdusalam, a spokesman for the Houthis, said the sanctions have shown the US “does not attempt to stop the aggression and lift the siege on Yemen.”
The sanctions have also shown that the US “is responsible for prolonging the war and worsening the humanitarian crisis,” according to Saadi.
Saadi heads the Ansarullah’s naval forces, while Hamzi supervised missile and explosive-laden drone attacks in Yemen and on Saudi Arabia, the Treasury Department alleged.
The sanctions came just weeks after the Biden administration removed the Houthis from a broader terrorism blacklist in a bid to ease civilian suffering in the country.
Reuters citing two sources reported that senior US officials have held a first direct meeting with officials from the Houthi movement that controls Yemen’s capital.
The discussions, which have not been officially made public by either side, took place in the Omani capital Muscat on Feb. 26 between US Yemen envoy Timothy Lenderking and the Houthis’ chief negotiator Abdusalam, the sources said.