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.
