It was one of Joe Biden’s great announcements in his first foreign policy speech: reconnecting with a diplomacy based on “values”. The United States will remove the Houthi rebels in Yemen from their list of terrorist groups. A designation that humanitarian organizations considered detrimental to aid efforts on the ground. Belligerents on both sides praised Washington’s peace efforts at home.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Congress on Friday (February 5th) of his intention to remove the Houthis from the list of groups considered to be terrorists by Washington, the State Department said. “We have formally notified Congress of the Secretary of State’s intention to cancel” this designation, said a spokesperson for the State Department. The measure will take effect quickly.
The Houthis had been classified as a terrorist group by President Donald Trump’s administration and humanitarian aid organizations believed that this designation hampered their action on the ground.
Since 2014, a civil war has raged in Yemen. The conflict pits the Houthi rebels against government forces, supported since 2015 by an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia. It has left tens of thousands of dead and millions displaced, according to international organizations, and caused the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the UN.
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Humanitarian consequences
Faced with the conflict, aid organizations have said they have no choice but to deal with the Houthis, who de facto rule much of Yemen, including the capital, Sana’a, and that their designation as terrorists exposed them to the risk of being sued by the United States.
The State Department spokesman said the measure announced Friday was based solely on these considerations. “This decision has nothing to do with what we think of the Houthis and their reprehensible conduct, including attacks on civilians and kidnapping of US citizens”, he said.
“We are committed to helping Saudi Arabia defend its territory against further attacks. Our action is due solely to the humanitarian consequences of this last minute appointment by the previous administration, which the United Nations and humanitarian organizations have since made clear that will accelerate the world’s most serious humanitarian crisis ”, explained the spokesperson.
Antony Blinken’s predecessor, Mike Pompeo, justified this measure by stressing the Houthi ties with Iran, a country to which President Trump was very hostile, and by recalling a deadly rebel attack on December 30 on the airport in ‘Aden, Yemen’s second largest city.
“This war must end”
The measure announced Friday comes after a speech by President Joe Biden in which he announced the end of US support for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen. The belligerents reaffirmed their commitment to end the conflict after Mr. Biden pledged to support the “Diplomatic efforts”, but a solution still seems out of reach at this point, experts say.
In his first foreign policy speech since taking over from Donald Trump, Joe Biden on Thursday ended US support for the coalition and called for more diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
“This war must end”, he hammered, announcing the cancellation of arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Biden confirmed the appointment of a seasoned diplomat, Timothy Lenderking, as US envoy to Yemen.
The Yemeni government, recognized by the international community, welcomed the announcements, stressing “The importance of supporting diplomatic efforts”. He hailed the appointment of Mr Lenderking as a “Milestone” for “End the war caused by the Iranian-backed Houthis”.
Request for a ceasefire
Iran denies providing arms to the Houthis but does not hide its political support for the rebels. The Houthis have lent their support to the approach of the new US administration, which had indicated in January that it would reconsider Mr. Trump’s decision to put the rebels on its list of terrorist organizations.
“We are cautiously optimistic”, responded to AFP Hamid Assem, a Houthi official. “Our missiles will not stop until there is a ceasefire. (…) They are the ones who started the war, they are the ones who must end it ”, he warned, however, referring to government forces and their allies.
Without mentioning the end of US support for the coalition, Riyadh welcomed “Engagement” by Mr. Biden “To cooperate with the kingdom to defend its sovereignty and counter threats against it”. Saudi Arabia has been the target of repeated rebel attacks for months.
Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, expressed on Twitter his “Hurry” to work with “American friends to end conflicts”. But, on the ground, a solution appears almost impossible.