Al Houthis could get US terror tag
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERING DESIGNATING YEMENI GROUP A TERROR ORGANISATION
The Trump administration is considering designating Yemen’s Al Houthi militia as a terrorist organisation, people familiar with the discussions said, as part of a campaign to end that country’s civil war and pile pressure on their ally Iran.
A formal terrorist designation by the State Department could further isolate the militia which seized control of Yemen’s capital in late 2014.
This came as Al Houthis battled yesterday to slow an advance by pro-government forces deeper into Hodeida seeking to recapture the city’s lifeline port, launching fierce barrages of mortar fire and aiming to cut off supply routes.
Yemen’s Iran-allied Al Houthi militia struggled yesterday to slow an advance by progovernment forces deeper into Hodeida seeking to recapture the city’s lifeline port, launching fierce barrages of mortar fire and aiming to cut off supply routes, military sources said. But despite the “intense attacks”, government forces made fresh advances in eastern sectors of Hodeida.
On Thursday, after a week of intense battles on the outskirts of the city, government troops entered residential neighbourhoods, using bulldozers to remove concrete road blocks installed by the militia.
Military sources said government forces and their coalition allies were edging towards the city’s vital port through which nearly 80 per cent of Yemen’s commercial imports and practically all UN-supervised humanitarian aid pass.
The Saudi-led military coalition which supports the government carried out air raids on rebel positions as the ground forces advanced.
A total of 110 Al Houthis have been killed in 24 hours of clashes in western Yemen’s Hodeida along with 22 pro-government troops fighting to retake the port city, medical sources said yesterday.
The latest deaths raised to 382 the number of fighters killed on both sides since the battle for Hodeida intensified on November 1.
This came as the Trump administration was said to be considering designating Yemen’s Al Houthi militia as a terrorist organisation, according to people familiar with the discussions, as part of a campaign to end that country’s civil war and pile pressure on Iran.
The terrorist designation, which would inject an unpredictable new element into fragile diplomatic efforts to initiate peace talks, has been discussed periodically since at least 2016, according to several of the individuals. But the matter has received renewed examination in recent months as the White House seeks to stake out a tough stance on Iranian-linked groups across the Middle East, they said.