US ‘Concerned’ as Yemeni Govt Sends al-Qaeda Financier to Peace Talks

Delegate Is on US Terror Blacklist for AQAP Activities

by Jason Ditz,

The US State Department today is expressing serious concerns about the Geneva peace talks for Yemen, not about the shoe throwing brawls, but about the al-Qaeda financier on the delegation of the Saudi-backed Hadi government.

The man, Abdel-Wahab Humayqani, was included in the delegation over US objections. He has been on the US blacklist of terrorists since 2013, and was accused of being behind a series of car bombings in 2012 that killed seven people.

Humayqani has been accused by the Treasury Department of using a series of charity fronts to funnel money to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a charge he denies, insisting he is simply a politician for the National Dialogue faction.

The Hadi government is being backed by the Saudis in their war against Yemen, a war that the US has played a supporting role in. Though Hadi has historically been seen as a US puppet, this latest dispute may suggest a growing disconnect.

http://news.antiwar.com/2015/06/18/us-concerned-as-yemeni-govt-sends-al-qaeda-financier-to-peace-talks/