Two Houthi military officials have been added to the sanctions list by the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee as of today, Thursday.
It was reported that the two officers are Mutlaq Amer Al-Marani of the National Security of the Houthi militia and Mansour Al-Saadi of the Navy, both of whom Saudi Arabia included on its list of terrorists last month.
These leaders are described as follows on the UN sanctions list:
According to information gathered by Al-Arabiya, the Houthi militia designated Mansour Ahmed Al-Saadi, also known by his nick name “Sajjad,” as the general overseer of the naval forces and called him chief of staff of these forces associated with it.
under the direction and instruction of Experts from the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, specialised in constructing booby-trapped boats for international passage and placing naval mines.
Al-Saadi is a militia led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, who enjoys a close relationship with the Iranians, and is from the Fot Maran region of the governorate of Saada, the militia’s primary stronghold.
In addition, he is one of the most notable Houthi leaders who is close to the militia leader and one of the military forces he dispatched to the western shore.
Al-Saadi, one of the Houthi leaders, reportedly underwent extensive training in Iran under the guidance of the Revolutionary Guards, and he was in charge of transporting Iranian weapons into Yemen.
Al-Saadi was a member of the crew of the Iranian ship Jihan, which was intercepted in 2012 off the coast of Yemen while transporting weapons and explosives from Iran to the Houthi militia.
Al-Saadi was detained by the government at the time, but after the uprising and Houthi militia took over the National Security Apparatus, they freed him.
While the United States sanctioned him for his part in the attacks on civilians, nearby nations, and navigation, Saudi Arabia also added him to its list of terrorist organisations.
The first intelligence officer in the Houthi militia is Mutlaq Amer Al-Marani, also known as “Abu Emad,” and he serves as the deputy head of the National Security Agency, which is a part of it, in Sana’a.
In a report by the Sanctions Panel of Experts on Yemen presented to the UN and Security Council, his name was mentioned as the most important controller of the UN programmes in Yemen. He is also in charge of the file for relief and humanitarian groups.
The report also stated that it interfered with the choice of recipients and operational zones, restricted the independence of humanitarian groups, refused to grant, delayed, or cancelled permits, and obstructed the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Samira al-Huri, a former Yemeni activist and inmate, disclosed that al-Marani was involved in moral and financial crimes as well as his participation in enticing political and tribal people. He was also accused of crimes involving major violations and torture of the kidnappers.
She attested to the fact that he assumed control of the case of recruiting girls to spy on the activities of international organisations and United Nations personnel, and that he was charging those organisations royalties and giving enormous sums of money to some of their employees who had grown afraid of his intimidation and threats.
She added that he was “forcing them to shoot obscene videos in order to pressure and blackmail them later, and then assigning them to set up employees and officials of some organisations, in order to impose certain conditions later on those organisations.” She also confirmed that he was in charge of recruiting young women and enticing them to work for the Houthis.
She disclosed that Al-Marani hired a large number of ladies, taking advantage of their desire for money, and dispatched them outside to entice Houthi foes, just as he had instructed them to entice tribal and political elites.
Notably, the US Treasury slapped sanctions in 2020 on a number of Houthi militia leaders, including Mutlaq Al-Marani.
Who are the two Houthi leaders listed for UN sanctions?
About Author
