Turkey freezes assets of Saleh and Houthi chiefs

ANKARA: Turkey has frozen the assets of officials from Yemen’s former regime including ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, along with Houthi rebel leaders, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The move by Ankara followed UN Security Council sanctions on the same five men for threatening peace in the impoverished, conflict-torn country.
The decision, which was published in the Official Gazette having been endorsed by the cabinet, blacklists Saleh, his son Ahmad Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Houthi leaders Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, Abdullah Yahya Al-Hakim and Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Houthi, the agency said.
The sanctions freeze any assets, bank accounts and safe deposit boxes the five might have in Turkey and will be in place until Feb. 26, 2016, Anatolia said.
Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years before being forced from power in 2012, threw the support of his loyalists in the army behind the Houthis.
He was accused of aiding the Houthis to undermine UN-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in February.
The Saudi-led coalition began a campaign of air strikes against the Houthis and their allies in March after the terrorists seized Sanaa and then advanced south.
Troops supporting President Hadi have now retaken the last military base in the country’s south that was held by Houthis.
Officials say Friday’s capture of Labouza base is the latest victory for the pro-government forces that have been pushing north in the province of Lahj, after routing the terrorists from the coastal city of Aden recently.
Labouza lies north of the strategic Al-Anad base, which fell to Yemeni troops on Monday.
The gains by the pro-government forces have been made possible with the help of the Saudi-led and US-backed coalition.
According to SPA, a Saudi soldier was killed by shelling from across the Yemeni border on Friday.
The National Guard serviceman was killed in the Najran region, in the southwest, said the Saudi-led coalition.
Another soldier died from shelling along the border on Wednesday, and a civilian was killed in Najran three days earlier.