Yemen hails US plan to designate Houthi as terror group

SANAA

The Yemeni government on Monday welcomed the US plan to designate the Houthi rebels as a terrorist group.

"The Yemeni government has steadfastly supported the US administration's designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization and continues to provide full support for all efforts led by the United Nations to reach a lasting peace," said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

"The Houthis deserve to be classified as a foreign terrorist organization.

"The crimes and gross violations of human rights and international law committed by this group [...] prove the terrorist nature of this group and its lack of seriousness in achieving peace,” the statement added.

Moammar Al-Eryani, Yemen's minister of information, tourism and culture, said: "This step will have a great impact on curbing the crimes of the Houthi militia and stopping terrorist activities targeting regional security and international interests."

For its part, the Houthi group condemned the US decision and said that it would reserve the right to respond.

Late on Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced his plans of designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization and mark three group leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict in Yemen has so far claimed the lives of 233,000 people.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara