Blinken removes Houthis from the list of foreign terrorist organizations starting next week

Blinken removes Houthis from the list of foreign terrorist organizations starting next week

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The move reverses a last-minute decision by the Trump administration that faced reaction from bipartisan politicians and humanitarian organizations. The latter group warned that the designation could jeopardize their ability to provide crucial assistance to the people of Yemen, approximately 80% of whom depend on it.

Blinken said in his statement that the decision to remove the group’s FTO designation, as well as its Specially Designated Global Terrorist Designation, was motivated by these concerns, calling it “an acknowledgment of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen”.

“We have heard warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic products like food and fuel,” he said on Friday. “The repeals are intended to ensure that relevant American policies do not prevent assistance to those who already suffer what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. As we focus on alleviating the humanitarian situation in Yemen, we hope that the parties Yemenis can also focus on engaging in dialogue. “

Blinken’s announcement came after the Houthis mounted a series of attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, which were condemned by the State Department this week.

The top US diplomat noted in his statement that Houthi leaders Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim remain under sanction.

“The United States remains aware of Ansarallah’s evil actions and aggression, including taking control of large areas of Yemen by force, attacking US partners in the Gulf, kidnapping and torturing US citizens and many of our allies, diverting the work humanitarian aid, brutally repressing Yemenis in the areas they control, and the deadly attack on December 30, 2020 in Aden against the Yemeni legitimate government office, “he said, using another name for the Houthis.

Yemen is involved in a civil war of years that pitted a coalition supported by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against Houthi rebels supported by Iran, a Shi’ite political and military organization in northern Yemen. The conflict claimed thousands of civilian lives and plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis.

President Joe Biden announced last week that the United States will end its support for Saudi-backed offensive operations in the war in Yemen, but made it clear that it would continue to support the Kingdom. Blinken echoed that sentiment in his statement on Friday. The Biden government’s special envoy to Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, was in Riyadh this week for meetings with Saudi and Yemeni officials, as well as with UN special envoy Martin Griffiths.

“The United States will redouble its efforts, together with the United Nations and others, to end the war itself. We reaffirm our strong belief that there is no military solution to this conflict,” Blinken said on Friday. “We urge all parties to work for a lasting political solution, which is the only way to end the humanitarian crisis that afflicts the people of Yemen in a lasting way.”

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