EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Yemen’s former president and two leaders of the powerful Shiite Houthi rebels late Friday for threatening the peace, security and stability of the country.

The council ordered a freeze of all assets and a global travel ban on former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has allied with the Houthis, the rebel group’s military commander Abd al-Khaliq al-Huthi and the Houthi’s second-in-command Abdullah Yahya al Hakim.

Approval by all 15 council members is required to impose sanctions.

Lithuania’s U.N. Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite, who chairs the Yemen sanctions committee, tweeted that there were no objections by the 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) deadline Friday.

Last month, the Security Council condemned the growing number of al-Qaida linked terrorist attacks in Yemen, expressed deep concern at the Houthi takeover of the capital Sanaa, and urged the government to expedite reforms.

The council said it was prepared to sanction “spoilers” blocking implementation of a transitional roadmap to peace and democracy adopted after a national dialogue. Soon after, the United States proposed the three names.

Thousands of Houthis and supporters of Saleh rallied in Sanaa earlier Friday, denouncing the United States over its push for sanctions against the ousted president and rebel leaders and carrying posters urging the U.S. ambassador to get out of the country.

Saleh stepped down in 2011 as part of a U.S.-backed, Gulf-brokered deal after months of protests against his rule. But backers of the new president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, accuse Saleh of undermining him. Many believe Saleh, who remains a powerful political player, helped Houthi rebels in the past months as they swept into Sanaa.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the sanctions make “clear that the international community will not tolerate efforts to use violence to thwart the legitimate aspirations of the Yemeni people and their ongoing political transition.”

In a letter to council members last Friday published by the blog UN Report and confirmed by U.N. diplomats, the U.S. Mission said that in the fall of 2012, Saleh reportedly became one of the primary supporters of the Houthi rebellion and “was behind the attempts to cause chaos throughout Yemen.”

The letter said U.N. experts allege in a September report that Saleh has been using al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula operatives to conduct assassinations and carry out attacks against military installations in order to further weaken president Hadi and sow discontent within the army and population.

In late September, the letter said Houthi fighters were allegedly prepared to attack the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa on orders from al-Huthi, the military commander in the capital.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.