Fares Mana'a

Fares Mohammed Mana'a (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] Mana'a was born on February 8, 1965 in the northern city of Sa'dah.[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 Mana'a
Minister of State
Disputed
Assumed office
28 November 2016
PresidentSaleh Ali al-Sammad
Prime MinisterAbdel-Aziz bin Habtour
Governor of Sa'dah*
In office
27 March 2011 – 24 December 2014
Preceded byTaha Hajer
Succeeded byMohamed Jaber Awadh al-Razehi
Personal details
Born (1965-02-08) February 8, 1965
Sa'dah, Yemen
NationalityYemeni
Political partyIndependent
GPC (until March 2011)
ProfessionArms-dealer, businessman, former governor
Military service
AllegianceHouthis
Battles/warsHouthi insurgency in Yemen
  • His authority as governor was not recognised by the Yemeni government in Sana'a

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] Mana'a 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, Mana'a was arrested by Yemeni authorities[12] leading to protests in Sa'dah by tribal chiefs and the resignation of his brother, Hassan Mana'a, 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 Mana'a[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 Sana'a.[4][15] He led the Houthis independent administration in Sa'dah governorate[15] until December 2014.[17]

References
  1. EUR-Lex REGULATIONS: COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 956/2011, 26 September 2011
  2. 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
  3. Sa'ada tribal leaders protest "weapons dealer" imprisonment Archived 2011-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, February 20, 2010
  4. Houthis Control Sa’ada, Help Appoint Governor, 29 March 2011
  5. Al-Ahram Saleh stalls as Yemen unravels Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, March 30, 2011
  6. Sana’a Cards to Pressurize Houthis to Enter New Dialogue Rounds, 10 April 2010
  7. United States Department of State Foreign Terrorist Organizations, September 15, 2011
  8. allafrica Who's Backing Al Shabaab? - Al Qaeda, Eritrea?, October 31, 2011
  9. "Yemeni arms dealer's assets frozen". 13 April 2010.
  10. Yemeni weapons dealer released, 21-06-2010
  11. Mana'a and al-Ahmar received money from Gaddafi to shake security of KSA, Yemen
  12. Google News Driver killed in Sanaa hit on police convoy, May 11, 2010
  13. Sa'ada tribal leaders protest "weapons dealer" imprisonment Archived 2011-08-02 at the Wayback Machine, 20 February 2010
  14. Sa'ada: A Cry for Help
  15. Houthi Group Appoints Arms Dealer as Governor of Sa'ada province
  16. Washington Post Yemen crisis intensifies with factory explosion, March 29, 2011
  17. United Nations Security Council Final report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2140 (2014) paragraph 75


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