US Designates Yemen’s Houthi Rebel Group As ‘Foreign Terrorist’ Organisation’

<p>US President Donald Trump on Wednesday re-designated Yemen’s Houthi rebel group as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, said the White House in a statement.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The move will imply stricter economic penalties than the Biden administration had enforced on the Iran-backed group in response to its attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime chokepoint.&nbsp;</p>
<p>”The Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade” said the White House in its statement.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Houthis, formerly known as Ansar Allah have control over most of Yemen and have carried out over 100 targeted attacks on ships plying the Red Sea since November 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestine over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>ALSO READ: <a href=”https://news.abplive.com/explainers/who-are-houthi-rebels-and-why-they-are-attacking-red-sea-ships-abpp-1652176″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Who Are Houthi Rebels And Why They Are Attacking Red Sea Ships</a></strong></p>
<p>The armed rebel group has sunk two vessels, seized another, and killed at least four seafarers. Their attacks on shipping vessels forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa for over a year.&nbsp;</p>
<p>They have targeted the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which are joined by the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait, a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During the previous administration under Joe Biden, the US military sought to intercept Houthi attacks to safeguard commercial traffic and waged periodic strikes to degrade Hothi military capabilities. However, the action did not target the group’s leadership.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In 2021, Biden had dropped Trump’s terrorist designations to address humanitarian concerns inside Yemen. However, after being confronted with Red Sea attacks, the Biden administration designated the group as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” organization. But his administration held off on applying the harsher FTO designation.</p>