President Joe Biden’s administration will remove Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen from the lists of Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, the State Department confirmed on Friday.
The last-minute decision by the government of former President Donald Trump to designate the group that controls 80% of Yemen’s territory has been widely condemned by international organizations for disrupting the delivery of essential food and helping a country on the verge of starvation.
“Secretary [Antony] Blinken was clear about conducting a quick review of Ansarallah’s assignments, given the profound implications for the people of Yemen, home to the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe, ”confirmed a State Department official on Friday. “After a comprehensive review, we can confirm that the secretary intends to revoke the Ansarallah Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations.”
The State Department formally notified Congress of its intention to remove Houthis from the lists and “will share more details in the coming days,” said the official.
The decision came just over 24 hours after the Biden government announced the end of American support for Saudi-led offensive operations against the Houthis in Yemen, including freezing arms sales to the Kingdom.
“We are committed to helping Saudi Arabia defend its territory against further attacks,” said the State Department official on Friday. “Our action is entirely due to the humanitarian consequences of this last-minute designation from the previous government, which the United Nations and humanitarian organizations have since made clear that would accelerate the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
The official added that the decision to revoke the Houthis’ designations “has nothing to do with our view of the Houthis and their condemnable conduct, including attacks on civilians and kidnapping American citizens.”
“This is yet another vital and correct decision to bring hope to the people affected by the Yemen crisis,” said David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. “Ansar Allah’s designation would have done nothing to combat terrorism and everything else to make humanitarian aid and commercial traffic impossible.”
“The next steps are to increase aid flows, negotiate a permanent ceasefire and move the diplomatic process forward to establish a sustainable political agreement,” he said.
