Yemen Monitor/Newsroom
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on six individuals and entities based in China and Hong Kong who facilitated the purchase of weapons for Yemen’s Houthi group.
In a press release, the Treasury Department stated that the newly imposed sanctions targeted two individuals and four companies that facilitated the purchase of weapons for the Houthi group, which “since November 2023, has continued to use drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles to attack U.S. military forces, commercial vessels and their crews, and civilians in Israel.”
The statement added that these sanctions target key actors based in China, including Hong Kong, and Yemen, who have directly supported the Houthis’ efforts to purchase military materials from abroad and ship these items to Houthi-controlled areas, enabling the group to continue its “reckless” attacks against U.S. interests and its allies.
The statement indicated that the sanctions included Maher Yahya Muhammad Mutar al-Kinyani and his company (Y-Tech), as well as Ahmed Khaled Yahya al-Shahri and his three companies: Al-Shahri United, Guangzhou Al-Shahri United, and Hong Kong Al-Shahri, with headquarters in Yemen and China.
In mid-July, Washington classified and froze the assets of twelve individuals and vessels playing a central role in financing the Houthis’ destabilizing regional activities within the “Saeed Al-Jamal network.”
It was noted that the “Saeed Al-Jamal network” continues to provide tens of millions of dollars to the Houthis in Yemen through shipments of Iranian goods, including oil, funding the Houthis’ ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Since November, the Houthis have targeted more than 170 commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and recently expanded their operations to the Indian Ocean. They claim to be targeting vessels linked to Israel, which is launching a brutal attack on Gaza Strip. However, the Yemeni government and experts argue that the Houthis’ goals are domestic, aimed at escaping internal crises and improving their image in the region.
In response, the US and Britain have been launching airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi group since January 11. As a result, the Houthis announced an expansion of their operations to include U.S. and British ships.
