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US-YEMEN-IRAN-CONFLICT
Huthis defiant as US brands Yemen rebels ‘terrorists’
SANAA, Jan 11, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Yemen’s Huthis were defiant Monday after
the United States moved to brand the Iran-backed rebels as terrorists, a
last-minute move in defiance of aid groups who fear it will tip the country
into famine.
Unless Congress blocks the decision, the Huthis will be blacklisted on
January 19 — one day before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden,
whose aides had hoped to mount a fresh push to end Yemen’s devastating six-
year-old war.
“These policies represent a crisis in thinking and are to be condemned,
and we have the right to respond,” Huthi political commander Mohamed Ali al-
Huthi said in a tweet.
“The Yemeni people don’t care about any designation from (US President
Donald) Trump’s administration as it is a partner in killing Yemenis and
starving them.”
The decision announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could
complicate Biden’s promised efforts to restart diplomacy with Iran and to
reassess Washington’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, which has led a bloody
offensive in its impoverished southern neighbour.
“The designations are intended to hold Ansar Allah accountable for its
terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian
populations, infrastructure and commercial shipping,” Pompeo said Sunday,
using the official name of the Huthi movement.
The Huthis have “led a brutal campaign that has killed many people,
continues to destabilise the region and denies Yemenis a peaceful solution to
the conflict in their country”.
Pompeo also designated as terrorists three leaders of the movement,
including their chief Abdul Malik al-Huthi.
He pointed to a December 30 attack on an airport in Yemen’s second city
Aden, which killed 26 people and was blamed by the Saudi-backed government on
the Huthis.
– Fears of aid groups –
The Huthis control much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, and are
already under US sanctions.
The designation is expected to scare away outside actors from many
transactions with Huthi authorities, including bank transfers and buying food
and fuel, for fear of US prosecution.
Aid groups have warned Pompeo against the blacklisting, saying they have
no option but to deal with what is the de facto government in northern Yemen.
“The US government must ensure that any sanctions do not block food, fuel
and medicines from entering a country already in the middle of a full-blown
humanitarian catastrophe,” the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Yemen director
Mohamed Abdi said in a statement.
Pompeo insisted that the State Department was aware of the concerns and
was “planning to put in place measures” to reduce the impact on humanitarian
work and imports into Yemen.
Trump’s administration has been ramping up pressure on Iran in its final
days, hoping to make it more difficult logistically and politically for Biden
to ease sanctions as he seeks a return to a nuclear deal.
US officials and analysts say Iran has armed the Huthis, but some experts
question the extent of cooperation and see Tehran primarily as interested in
bogging down Saudi Arabia, whose brutal air campaign has included strikes on
civilian targets.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and
millions displaced in Yemen’s war, with most of the nation dependent on some
form of aid to survive.
Analysts warn of disastrous consequences after the UN World Food Programme
said in December that malnutrition had reached record levels, narrowing the
window of opportunity to prevent a famine.
Peter Salisbury, senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group,
said the designation “risks collectively punishing all Yemenis by
precipitating a famine while doing little to hurt the Huthis other than
pushing them closer to Iran”.
“If the impact of this designation is half as bad as has been predicted it
is millions of ordinary Yemenis who are struggling to eat who will pay the
price, while already distant prospects of peace slip away.”
– Ignoring Congressional warnings –
Under US law, Congress has seven days in which it can object to a
designation of a foreign terrorist group.
But it will likely be focused on other issues, as the House of
Representatives looks at impeaching Trump for a second time after he
encouraged a mob that stormed the Capitol last week to disrupt a session that
certified Biden’s election win.
Lawmakers from Biden’s Democratic Party have told Pompeo the designation
would both jeopardise aid and peace efforts.
“This designation would almost certainly prevent the critical delivery of
food, medical supplies and other items necessary to combat both Covid-19 and
famine,” three senators said in a joint appeal last year.
In an open letter to Pompeo last month, retired US diplomats, including
six former ambassadors to Yemen, also doubted that the Huthis met the legal
definition of a terrorist group.
“In fact, designating the Huthi movement will be perceived as politically
motivated and will undermine the credibility of US counterterrorism programs
and policies, which serve as a first line of our nation’s defence,” they
wrote.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1505 hrs