Former Yemeni President and son removed from UN sanctions list

The UN Security Council Sanctions Committee removed the late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his son Ahmed Ali from its sanctions list yesterday, ending measures imposed on them nearly a decade ago alongside senior Houthi officials.

A statement published on the UN website confirmed the removal of the entries for both Ali Abdullah Saleh and his son Ahmed from the sanctions list established under Resolution 2140 by the Security Council Sanctions Committee.

In a post on X, Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) member Tariq Saleh, the nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, expressed his gratitude: "I extend my thanks for all the efforts made by the PLC and the support of our brothers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE."

حذفت لجنة العقوبات التابعة لمجلس الامن اسمي الزعيم علي عبدالله صالح ونجله أحمد، من قائمة العقوبات التابعة لها.
اتوجه بالشكر لكل الجهود التي بذلت من أجل ذلك من مجلس القيادة ودعم من الاشقاء في المملكة العربية السعودية والامارات العربية المتحدة.
نترحم على روح الزعيم الشهيد، وتهانينا…

— طارق محمد صالح (@tarikyemen) July 31, 2024

According to Al-Jumhuriya TV, affiliated with Tariq Saleh, the Security Council's decision to lift sanctions came after the deadline for objecting to a request submitted by Yemen's representative to the Security Council, Abdullah Al-Saadi.

In April 2015, the UN Security Council sanctioned Ali Abdullah Saleh and his son Ahmed, along with senior Houthi officials including Abdul Khaliq al-Houthi and Abdullah al-Hakim, for their involvement in fueling the war and supporting the Houthi coup.

The sanctions included a freeze on financial assets and a travel ban.

In April 2013, then-Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi dismissed Ahmed Ali from his position as commander of the Republican Guard and appointed him as Yemen's ambassador to the UAE. Hadi later dismissed him from this position in March 2015, following the Saudi-led Coalition's Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen, which targeted Houthi forces and Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Despite remaining in the UAE since his dismissal, the Republican Guard forces Ahmed Ali commanded actively participated alongside the Houthis in the 2015 invasion of South Yemen.

Ali Abdullah Saleh and members of his family - who headed various security and military units in the country such as the Republican Guard, Central Security, National Security, and Political Security - significantly contributed to the rise of the Houthis and their control over North Yemen.

However, in December 2017, Ali Abdullah Saleh was tragically killed by Houthi militants in Sanaa after a dispute with the group. His family fled to Aden, including Tariq Saleh, who now fights the Houthis on the western coast, making the city of Mokha his headquarters.

With the lifting of sanctions on him, Ahmed Ali Abdullah is expected to return to the political forefront again.

Despite his father’s death at the hands of the Houthis, Ahmed Ali has voiced extremist positions on Yemeni Unity, aligning with Houthi rhetoric and threatening Southern political forces.

On May 21, 2023, he stated in a speech marking the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of Yemeni Unity: "The Yemeni people will only be with preserving this great achievement, defending it, and confronting all attempts at division and fragmentation".

So far, Ahmed Ali has not declared a clear position on the Houthis, but his party, based in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, continues to recognize him as the party's vice president.