Aid agencies sound alarm as US considers relisting Houthis as terror group
The US State Department says it would have to "fully consider the humanitarian implications" of the Houthis' redesignation as a terrorist group.
The United Arab Emirates has urged the United States to classify the Iran-backed group as a foreign terrorist organization following the Houthis' deadly drone and missile attack on Abu Dhabi earlier this week. The Emirati ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al-Otaiba, recommended the Houthis’ blacklisting during a meeting with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday.
The Trump administration designated the Houthis in January 2021 despite months of appeals from aid groups who said the terror label would complicate the delivery of aid and commercial imports into war-torn Yemen, much of which is under the Houthis’ de facto control.
The State Department revoked the terror designation of Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, within the first month of Biden’s presidency in a decision spokesperson Ned Price said had “nothing to do” with the rebels’ “reprehensible conduct.”
The Houthis’ redesignation, Biden said, is “under consideration.” The comment set off alarm bells within aid agencies, who last year pushed hard for Biden to reverse Trump’s move.
A majority of Yemen’s population lives in Houthi-controlled areas. Aid organizations operating there must cooperate on some level with the Iran-aligned group, including by paying taxes to Houthi authorities and obtaining the group’s permission to deliver food, medicine and other assistance.