Overview

Muhammad Abd Al-Karim Al-Ghamari is the U.S.- and U.N.-designated major general and chief of general staff for the Houthis.“Security Council 2140 Sanctions Committee Adds Three Entries to Its Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, November 9, 2021, https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/sc14695.doc.htm; “Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191. In February 2021, Al-Ghamari began leading the large-scale Houthi offensive against Yemeni government-held territory in Marib province, a situation that escalated Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.“Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191. Given Al-Ghamari’s role in exacerbating Yemen’s civil war, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Al-Ghamari as a Specially Designated National (SDN) on May 20, 2021.“Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191.

Al-Ghamari allegedly studied at the Hussain Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi Institute in 2003, later becoming a prominent ideological leader of the Houthis. It is uncertain exactly when Al-Ghamari began fighting in the series of rebellions against former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. However, Al-Ghamari allegedly supervised armament stores and managed teams who placed mines and explosive devices against the National Army forces. When Houthi founder, Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi was killed in 2004, media sources claim Al-Ghamari oversaw the transfer of a group of fighters called al-Muhajiroun to Saada. At Saada, the fighters reportedly trained in camps to reform the Houthis military wing. Given Al-Ghamari’s success in military and security operations, he became close to Youssef Al-Madani, a prominent figure in the Houthis.“MUHAMMAD AL-GHAMMARI; THE HOUTHI LEADER WHO CONVEYED THE IRANIAN ‘REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS’ EXPERIENCE TO YEMEN,” June 5, 2021, https://www.alestiklal.net/en/view/8824/muhammad-al-ghamari-the-houthi-leader-who-conveyed-the-iranian-revolutionary-guards-experience-to-yemen.

During the period from 2005 to 2009, Al-Ghamari traveled to Syria and then to southern Lebanon, where he received intensive training by officers from Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Given the skills he acquired, Al-Ghamari established the first suicide formations for the Houthis, and opened multiple training camps in Yemen, including in Hajjah Governorate, which he supervised in 2007. Al-Ghamari was one of the most prominent leaders during Yemen’s six rounds of wars between 2004 and 2010, and at some point in 2008, media sources claimed Al-Ghamari was arrested under Saleh’s presidency. In 2009, Al-Ghamari reportedly visited Tehran, where he received military training in the use of rockets and artillery shells. Al-Ghamari reportedly traveled again to Lebanon in 2012, where he received ideological and military lessons from Hezbollah.“MUHAMMAD AL-GHAMMARI; THE HOUTHI LEADER WHO CONVEYED THE IRANIAN ‘REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS’ EXPERIENCE TO YEMEN,” June 5, 2021, https://www.alestiklal.net/en/view/8824/muhammad-al-ghamari-the-houthi-leader-who-conveyed-the-iranian-revolutionary-guards-experience-to-yemen.

According to media reports, Al-Ghamari participated in the September 2014 takeover of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The takeover resulted in the resignation of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in January 2015.“Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191; Mohammed Ghobari, “Houthis tighten grip on Yemen capital after swift capture, power-sharing deal,” Reuters, September 22, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/22/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN0HH2BQ20140922; Mark Mazzetti and David D. Kirkpatrick, “Saudi Arabia Leads Air Assault in Yemen,” New York Times, March 25, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/middleeast/al-anad-air-base-houthis-yemen.html?_r=0; “Yemen president quits, throwing country deeper into chaos,” Reuters, January 22, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-houthis-idUSKBN0KV0HT20150122; “MUHAMMAD AL-GHAMMARI; THE HOUTHI LEADER WHO CONVEYED THE IRANIAN ‘REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS’ EXPERIENCE TO YEMEN,” June 5, 2021, https://www.alestiklal.net/en/view/8824/muhammad-al-ghamari-the-houthi-leader-who-conveyed-the-iranian-revolutionary-guards-experience-to-yemen. In 2015, Al-Ghamari was appointed as head of the so-called Supreme Revolutionary Committee and Houthi supervisor in Hajjah Governorate.“Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191. Shortly after in 2016, Al-Ghamari was appointed the Houthis chief of the general staff and given the rank of major general by the Houthi Supreme Political Council.“MUHAMMAD AL-GHAMMARI; THE HOUTHI LEADER WHO CONVEYED THE IRANIAN ‘REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS’ EXPERIENCE TO YEMEN,” June 5, 2021, https://www.alestiklal.net/en/view/8824/muhammad-al-ghamari-the-houthi-leader-who-conveyed-the-iranian-revolutionary-guards-experience-to-yemen.

As the chief of the general staff of the Houthi armed forces, Al-Ghamari has been directly responsible for overseeing Houthi military operations that have destroyed civilian infrastructure in Yemen as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Al-Ghamari also directs the procurement and deployment of various weapons, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs), ammunition, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).“Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191.

In February 2021, the Houthis launched an offensive in Marib, with Al-Ghamari replacing Abdul Khaleq al-Houthi, the brother of Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, as commander in chief of the campaign.“MUHAMMAD ABD AL-KARIM AL-GHAMARI,” United Nations Security Council, November 9, 2021, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/muhammad-abd-al-karim-al-ghamari. The Houthis’ offensive in Marib—which seeks to capture control of the province from Yemen’s internationally recognized government—puts more than one million Yemenis who are already internally displaced at risk of being displaced again.“MUHAMMAD ABD AL-KARIM, AL-GHAMARI,” INTERPOL, November 9, 2021, https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Notices/View-UN-Notices-Individuals#2021-72700; “Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191. Marib, a province that hosts camps for close to one million internally displaced persons (IDP), remains under attack as the Houthis continue to launch ballistic missile attacks targeting IDP camps and other civilian sites. If the offensive continues, it is projected to displace hundreds of thousands of IDPs.“Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191.

On May 20, 2021, U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Al-Ghamari as an SDN.“Yemen-related Designation; Counter Terrorism Designation,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20210520_33. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Al-Ghamari’s activities are a direct obstruction of a November 23, 2011 agreement between the government of Yemen and its opposition groups that sought to provide a peaceful transition of power in Yemen.“Treasury Sanctions Senior Houthi Military Official Overseeing Group’s Offensive Operations,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 20, 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0191. On November 9, 2021, the United Nations Security Council also sanctioned Al-Ghamari for his role in threatening the peace, security, and stability of Yemen.“MUHAMMAD ABD AL-KARIM AL-GHAMARI,” United Nations Security Council, November 9, 2021, https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/muhammad-abd-al-karim-al-ghamari.