US and UK blacklist four senior Houthi leaders for Red Sea terrorism
Houthi quartet sanctioned for supporting ‘acts of terrorism targeting commercial shipping’
The US and UK have blacklisted four senior Houthi leaders over attacks in the Red Sea. The move follows US and UK strikes on the militants, and comes a day after a Houthi attack prompted Maersk to suspend Red Sea operations for its US-flagged vessels
THE US and UK have placed sanctions on four senior Houthi leaders involved in the militants’ attacks in the Red Sea.
The US said the four: Mohamed al-Atifi, the Houthis’ so-called minister of defence; Muhammad Fadl Abd al-Nabi, commander of the Houthis’ maritime forces; Muhammad Ali al-Qadiri, the chief of the Houthi coastal defence forces; and Muhammad Ahmad al-Talibi, the Houthis’ procurement director, were blacklisted for their “support to acts of terrorism targeting commercial shipping”.
The US said al-Qadiri is tasked with executing the Houthis’ attacks in Red Sea, while al-Talibi oversees the procurement of weapons, missiles, drones, and arms manufacturing components, and co-ordinates shipments with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Washington recently re-classified the Houthis as a “specially designated global terrorist” group, but today’s action comes ahead of the decision’s effective date of February 16.
“The Houthis’ persistent terrorist attacks on merchant vessels and their civilian crews lawfully transiting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden threaten to disrupt international supply chains and the freedom of navigation, which is critical to global security, stability and prosperity,” US Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.
“Today’s joint action with the United Kingdom demonstrates our collective action to leverage all authorities to stop these attacks.”
Today’s move comes after UK and US conducted a second joint strike against the militants earlier this week, and a day after two US-flagged Maersk ships were unsuccessfully targeted by the militants.
The vessels — Maersk Detroit (IMO: 9333034) and Maersk Chesapeake (IMO: 9356074) — were carrying US government cargo and escorted by the US Navy. USS Gravely shot down two missiles, while a third landed in the water, US Central Command said on social media platform X.
Maersk announced that it will halt all US-flag operations in the Red Sea following the incident.
Since the Houthis began attacking commercial ships in November, vessels movements in the region has plunged.
Between January 15-21 some 276 cargo-carrying vessels over 10,000 dwt transited the Bab el Mandeb, the waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
This is about 49% lower than the normal traffic seen in November.
The figures include vessels transiting the Bab el Mandeb with their Automatic Identification System on and those that disabled these systems during passage. The January figures may be revised upwards in the coming days as more data become available.
Although containerships led the initial Red Sea exodus, other sectors are pulling services that require sailing past Yemeni territory.
Bab el Mandeb transits during the third week of January fell 14% week on week.
Transits by gas tankers have slowed to a trickle, while bulk carriers, one of the most resilient sectors, posted a 16% drop week-on-week and 25% less than typical traffic levels.
Houthi aggression has also affected Suez Canal transits.
Passings are down 36% year-on-year and 39% on November volumes. Unlike the Bab el Mandeb, transits at Suez appear to be stabilising.
