Does Houthi terrorism in the red sea hinder the peace process?
Demands are growing in the U.S. Senate to classify the Houthi group as terrorists, as their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea persist.
Diplomats told the British newspaper The Guardian that such classification would hinder the start of the first phase of the peace plan worked on by Saudi Arabia and Oman with the Houthis under UN sponsorship for months, consisting of three stages.
The diplomats added that if the Houthis are classified as a terrorist group, funds intended to be placed in banks for paying the salaries of civilian employees, a key demand in the first phase of the peace plan, would be prohibited. Similarly, opening any seaports or airports would not be possible, thus keeping the Yemeni economy in a state of devastation.
It is evident that American diplomats hope that warnings directed at the Houthis, indicating that they recklessly and seriously jeopardize the peace opportunity, will convince the leadership of the group to cease attacks on maritime shipping.
The newspaper stated that the American warning reveals the price the United States wants to pay to support Israel’s plan to eliminate Hamas leadership. However, it did not address the price that all Yemenis would pay if an agreement is reached with the militias that does not consider their interests, let alone the unresolved major issues, including the Southern cause.
Sources added that the United States and Saudi Arabia are looking to end the war in Yemen and believe that a basis for doing so has been reached in Riyadh that could satisfy key parties, including the Southern Transitional Council. However, the parties represented in the Presidential Leadership Council have not yet agreed to this peace plan.
The United States had previously warned Houthi militias that their attacks and naval piracy against commercial ships were undermining hard-won peace efforts, according to statements by U.S. Special Envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking in October last year.
It is worth noting that Houthi militias pose a significant threat to international navigation in the Red Sea, and France, the United States, and Britain have announced thwarting Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting several oil tankers and commercial ships.
