“Localize the war”… Yemenis fear after Al-Houthi’s removal from terrorism list
Yemeni observers have warned of the repercussions of removing the Houthi group from the terrorist list and expressed fears that America will overturn the decision without the Houthi concessions to support peace.
Although Washington has upheld the sanctions imposed on militia leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi and his military and intelligence weapons, the timing of the announcement of the decision to remove the name of the group as a whole amid the escalation of the Houthis on the ground and the attack on civilian objects such as Abha Airport in Saudi Arabia would give militias experts the courage to raise the cap on their terms to participate in possible future settlements.
The Houthis’ reaction coincided with what experts warned, immediately after the US State Department announced the decision to remove the coup group from the terrorist list, the organization’s prominent leader Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, said his group was waiting to learn more to “prepare the steps for peace,” as he said.
Al-Houthi’s removal from the terrorism list sparked widespread controversy in the Yemeni street, as many saw them as a fatal blow to victims of the Houthi aggression and as a reward for a militia that satisfied to all legal standards to compete with terrorist organizations, especially after his involvement in the bloody attack on Aden airport to assassinate the Yemeni government with Iranian missiles.
Next Tuesday, the decision to abolish the Houthi group as a terrorist organization will be introduced, as Washington pledged to continue to monitor “the Houthi group’s malicious activity and set additional classification targets,” considering that suppression is one of the priorities to end the war, improve the humanitarian situation and support a political solution.
The Yemeni government has yet to comment on the decision, but they earlier considered any cancellation a gift to Iran and contradicts their promises after the decision to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization took effect on January 19, in order to contain international concerns regarding the resolution of the problems of the humanitarian crisis and political settlements.
The government had hoped to formally include the Houthis as terrorists as an option of international pressure to prevent any entity from providing them with material support, particularly Iran, and to stem attempts by the militia and their successor, Tehran, obtain diplomatic recognition and legitimize the coup d’état in northern Yemen by force of arms and not allow their leaders to escape the punishment of thousands of victims and crimes.
Observers point out that taking the decision to classify and then cancel it without any concessions in favor of colonization efforts puts the fate of peace at stake, considering the putschists as part of the terrorist organizations built by Tehran to impose hegemony in the country and betting on the blackmail of the world with the humanitarian crisis and the end of the war.
Ambiguous messages
The Yemeni politician, Faisal Al-Sufi, says that removing the Houthi militia from the blacklist sends ambiguous messages from the US administration to a country experiencing the largest humanitarian crisis and believes that this will prolong the war, and make peace out of reach.
The Yemeni expert attributed in a statement to Al-Ain Al-Akhbar that the write-off coincided with the resumption of the Houthi militia forcefully to overthrow Marib, which the coup leaders say is their “fateful” battle as well as Al-Jawf, instead of the high rate of attacks on Saudi Arabia and the mobilization towards further escalation in Hodeidah covered by a fragile international peace agreement.
Al-Sufi warned of vague messages that escalated after the United Nations discussed the Yemeni crisis with Iran, as the US administration was lax about Tehran’s interference, which could encourage them to exaggerate them role and legitimize their intervention in the country where their weapons and Houthi proxies are fueling the war.
The Yemeni politician expressed his serious concerns about enabling “clear to Tehran of the Yemeni file,” wondering what are the guarantees that will force a rogue state such as Iran, which is the main reason behind igniting the country, to play a role that encourages ending the war or playing a constructive role in peace?
Al-Sufi cited the statements of the Iranian foreign minister over the past days, claiming that Western countries, including America, are not concerned with regional affairs, expressing Tehran’s desire for dialogue with Saudi Arabia on regional issues, most notably stopping the Yemeni conflict.
He pointed out that this aims to grant Tehran itself the right to determine the fate of Arab countries, by imposing war and peace, as he had previously presented an initiative after the Houthi coup to solve the Yemeni crisis, which puts the Houthi role and their proxies a long hand on Yemeni territory and power.
He said, “Iran is pressing to present her initiative as the only solution to the Yemeni crisis, and to stipulate the participation of the Houthi militia in any settlements according to the geography that they controls,” and thus is a clear empowerment of Houthi in the north.
In the first response of the Houthi militia about the cancellation, they raised the ceiling of their conditions before any settlements, such as obtaining legitimacy for their coup government, contrary to Security Council Resolutions 2216-2201, which are demands that are inseparable from the position of Tehran, which intends to be a party that determines the situation in Yemen, and in the entire region, according to For a Yemeni politician.
Terrorist group
For his part, the editor-in-chief of the official website of the Joint Forces on the west coast of Yemen, Amin Al-Waili, considered splitting the annulment of the decision to classify the group and keep their leaders on the terrorist list. as a mitigation of an error, as it gives the parent organization the energy of loyalty to mobilize their followers after the description of terrorism limits membership in a global terrorist organization.
Al-Waeli said in an interview with Al-Ain Al-Akhbar that the Houthi militia is a religious group whose hierarchical organization is inseparable from their leaders and corresponds to Al Qaeda and ISIS. Therefore, continued sanctions will not affect the leadership, as sanctions have already been imposed on 5 leaders and the issue has not changed.
The Yemeni media official called on Washington to reconsider the evidence upon which the decision to rescind the classification was based and not allow extremists and militant groups to spread the spiral of violence over Yemen’s deep wound, stressing the enormity of Iran’s interference in stages in which militias invest as a moral victory to recruit more Yemenis.
Al-Waeli cautioned against policies of settling the civil war in Yemen and replicating Iraq’s experience, stressing that there is no force above the will of the people and depriving them of their natural and national right to popular resistance in opposition to the destroyer of Iran’s projects.
