Yemenis added to Swiss sanctions list

Houthi followers carry the body of a comrade allegedly killed during fighting between Saudi-backed fighters and Houthi militias in southern Yemen swissinfo.ch

Switzerland has added two top Yemeni figures involved in the crisis in the Arab state to a list of sanctions. The measure follows a United Nations Security Council embargo on arms, travel and assets passed on April 14.

On Tuesday the cabinet added Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the eldest son of Yemen’s former president, to a list of Swiss sanctions approved on December 5, 2014. The measures include an asset freeze and a travel ban. The list already included former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and two military leaders.

On April 14, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the leaders of the Houthi rebel Shiite group, along with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his son. In addition, the council imposed an asset freeze and travel ban on the Houthi leader and Saleh’s son.

Fighting around Yemen has killed more than 1,000 people, including an estimated 551 civilians, the United Nations said on April 24. Houthi fighters have seized control of large parts of Yemen. A coalition, including nine Arab states provided with logistical support by the United States, France and Britain, is seeking to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, now in exile in Riyadh.

Observers say the fighting in the strategic Arab nation is taking on the appearance of a proxy war between Iran, the Shiite powerhouse backing the Houthis, and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia.

Humanitarian supplies

On Monday the Saudi foreign minister said the Arab alliance conducting air strikes against Iranian-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen was considering calling truces in specific areas to allow humanitarian supplies to reach the country.

The same day two aid agencies, the Swiss-run International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médécins Sans Frontières, said they were extremely concerned about damage to the airports at the capital Sana’a and the port city of Hodeidah – lifelines that have been severed.

“The harsh restrictions on importations imposed by the Coalition for the past six weeks, added to the extreme fuel shortages, have made the daily lives of Yemenis unbearable and their suffering immense,” said Cedric Schweizer, who heads a team of 250 ICRC staff in Yemen.