Fares Mohammed Manaa (Arabic: فارس محمد مناع; born February 8, 1965)[1][2] is a top Yemeni arms-dealer,[1][2] businessman,[3] rebel commander and politician.[4] He is said to be Yemen's most famous arms-dealer.[5] Manaa was born on February 8, 1965, in the northern city of Saada.[2] He was an ally of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and member of his ruling GPC party[4] and served as head of his presidential committee and as head of a local council tasked with mediating a peace-deal between the Yemeni government and Houthis during the Shia insurgency in Yemen. His brother was the governor of Saada Governorate at the time.[3][6]
Fares Mohammed Manaa | |
|---|---|
| Minister of State Disputed | |
| Assumed office 28 November 2016 | |
| President | Saleh Ali al-Sammad |
| Prime Minister | Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour |
| Governor of Saada* | |
| In office 27 March 2011 – 24 December 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Taha Hajer |
| Succeeded by | Mohamed Jaber Awadh al-Razehi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 8, 1965 Sa'dah, Yemen |
| Political party | Independent GPC (until March 2011) |
| Profession | Arms-dealer, businessman, former governor |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Houthis |
| Battles/wars | Houthi insurgency in Yemen |
| |
His name was put on a UN Security Council list of people accused of trafficking arms to Somali Islamist insurgent group Al-Shabaab,[1][2] which is considered as a terrorist organisation by the United States[7] and is accused of with al-Qaeda.[8] This led to his assets being frozen by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[9][10] He was also accused of receiving millions in funds from the then Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi,[11] spying for Libya and supplying arms to the Houthis.[10] Manaa denied these charges claiming that arms had been stolen by Houthis from an arms deposit he owned. In October 2009[12] was put at the top of a blacklist of Yemeni arms-dealers, after which he was put under surveillance.[1][2][10]
In late January 2010, Manaa was arrested by Yemeni authorities[12] leading to protests in Sa'dah by tribal chiefs and the resignation of his brother, Hassan Manaa, as governor.[13] In May, a mini-bus driver was killed and a policeman and a civilian woman were injured[12] as a group of Manaa's men attacked the car in which he was being transported to a penal court. This resulted in his trial being delayed by 25 days.[10][12] He was eventually released on June 4,[12] after which his relations with President Saleh soured.[4]
On March 19, Houthis attacked the city of Sa'dah,[14] starting a battle with pro-government al-Abdin tribesmen,[4] led by Yemeni lawmaker Sheikh Othman Majali.[15] During the battle, rebels joined forces with Fares Manaa[10] and after their victory,[4][15] set up a local committee, composed of rebels, residents and defected military commanders,[16] which appointed him as the new governor of Sa'dah on 26 March, after the pro-Saleh governor Taha Hajer fled to the capital Sanaa.[4][15] He led the Houthis independent administration in Saada governorate[15] until December 2014.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b c d EUR-Lex REGULATIONS: COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 956/2011, 26 September 2011
- ^ a b c d e United Nations Security Council SECURITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON SOMALIA AND ERITREA ISSUES LIST OF INDIVIDUALS: IDENTIFIED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 8 OF RESOLUTION 1844 (2008), 12 April 2010
- ^ a b Sa'ada tribal leaders protest "weapons dealer" imprisonment Archived 2011-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, February 20, 2010
- ^ a b c d e f Houthis Control Sa'ada, Help Appoint Governor Archived 2019-04-11 at the Wayback Machine, 29 March 2011
- ^ Al-Ahram Saleh stalls as Yemen unravels Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, March 30, 2011
- ^ Sana'a Cards to Pressurize Houthis to Enter New Dialogue Rounds, 10 April 2010
- ^ United States Department of State Foreign Terrorist Organizations, September 15, 2011
- ^ allafrica Who's Backing Al Shabaab? - Al Qaeda, Eritrea?, October 31, 2011
- ^ "Yemeni arms dealer's assets frozen". 13 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Yemeni weapons dealer released[permanent dead link], 21-06-2010
- ^ Mana'a and al-Ahmar received money from Gaddafi to shake security of KSA, Yemen[usurped]
- ^ a b c d e Google News Driver killed in Sanaa hit on police convoy, May 11, 2010
- ^ Sa'ada tribal leaders protest "weapons dealer" imprisonment Archived 2011-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, 20 February 2010
- ^ Sa'ada: A Cry for Help
- ^ a b c d Houthi Group Appoints Arms Dealer as Governor of Sa'ada province
- ^ The Washington Post Yemen crisis intensifies with factory explosion, March 29, 2011
- ^ United Nations Security Council Final report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014) paragraph 75