The US Special Envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, has announced that two Houthi military leaders have been taken under the sanction list. Speaking at a virtual media briefing, Lenderking also reiterated his call for halting the blockade on all ports and airports to temper the humanitarian crisis Yemen has been going through.
Lenderking identified the head of the general staff operating the Houthi campaign in Marib, Mohammad Abdulkarim Al Gamali, and one of the prominent leaders of Houthi forces tasked to take control of Marib, Yousuf Al Madani, as the Houthi officials who had been imposed sanctions on.
In his statement, Lenderking said, “If there were no offensive, if there were commitments to peace, if the parties are all showing up to deal constructively with the UN envoy, there would be no need for designations.”
Stating that the Houthi offensive is still on the table and continues to threaten more than one million people, the Special Envoy highlighted the importance of reopening all ports and airports. The envoy also expressed his pleasure for the Saudi-Iranian talks while stressing that any positive Iranian engagement towards ending the conflict in Yemen has not been observed yet. In this sense, Lenderking called Iran to support peace talks that the envoy have intensely pressured to ensure.
In March, Saudi Arabia offered a nationwide ceasefire, but the Houthi group dismissed it and potentiated its attacks targeting Saudi-held territories as well as the Marib region. For their part, the Houthis announced that they would not consider any proposal that does not include the full halting of the blockade that the Saudi-led coalition has imposed.
