UN Security Council Bans Arms Sales to Yemen’s Saleh, Houthi
Source: Bloomberg
by Sangwon Yoon
10:18 AM EDT
April 14, 2015
The United Nations Security Council voted to impose an arms embargo against Houthi leaders in Yemen and blacklist the son of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, accepting a proposal by six Gulf Arab nations.
The 15-member council adopted the resolution written by the Gulf Cooperation Council with 14 votes in favor. Russia abstained. The resolution imposes a travel ban and asset freeze for Saleh’s son Ahmed Ali Abdullah and Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi.
The vote on Tuesday caps weeks of negotiations in New York between Gulf Arab and Russian diplomats under mediation by Jordan, which holds the Arab proxy on the Security Council. Saudi Arabia is leading a campaign of air attacks by Sunni-led Muslim nations against the Houthis.
Russia opposed an arms embargo targeting solely the Houthi rebels backed by Iran, a Shiite Muslim nation, as an “unbalanced” move. Russia, which on Monday approved shipping air-defense missile systems to Iran, demanded that the Yemeni government led by President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi also be included.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/un-security-council-bans-arms-sales-to-yemen-s-saleh-houthis-i8heh5gf