Yemen's rebels defiant as aid agencies fear US terror label

Washington Times

Yemen's rebels defiant as aid agencies fear US terror label

 By MAGGIE MICHAEL - Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) - Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels on Monday dismissed the U.S. move to designate them a terrorist organization in the final days of the Trump administration while a leading aid agency warned such a designation would deal another “devastating blow” to the impoverished and war-torn nation.

The planned designation, announced by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late Sunday, would take effect a day before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20. It was not clear whether Biden would overturn the decision.

Yemen is mired in a disastrous humanitarian crisis, with millions of people in wide swaths of the country on the brink of famine as a result of six years of civil war.

Pompeo said he was proceeding with the designation of the rebels, known as Houthis, along with separate terrorist designations for the three top rebel leaders. At the same time, he pledged the U.S. would help absorb the impact on aid groups and allow humanitarian assistance to continue to flow into Yemen.

Hours later, several senior rebel figures slammed Pompeo’s announcement.

“We are not fearful,” tweeted Mohammed Ali al-Houthi. “America is the source of terrorism. It’s directly involved in killing and starving the Yemeni people.”

Full story https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jan/11/aid-group-us-terrorism-designation-for-yemen-rebel/