Yemen defence body designates Houthis as terrorist group 

The internationally-recognised Yemeni government-in-exile approved the designation of the Houthi movement as a “terrorist group” on Saturday, the first time it has formally done so since the start of the devastating eight-year war.

In an emergency meeting the National Defence Council, headed by Chairman of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, made the decision “in accordance with the Crimes and Penalty Law, the Arab Convention on Combating Terrorism, and international and regional conventions and treaties ratified by the Republic of Yemen,” reported the Saba news agency.

The council called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to confront “this dangerous escalation by the Houthi militia and their supporters by targeting civilian objects and economic installations in a premeditated war crime that requires firm punishment by designating these militias as an international terrorist group and taking all subsequent measures.”

The move came after a drone attack was carried out by the Houthi-aligned armed forces against an oil terminal in the southern Hadramout province the day before, said to be the first operation by the Sanaa-based forces since the UN-brokered truce between the warring sides expired on 2 October.

In a statement, the spokesperson for the Houthi-allied military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced: “We carried out the attack as a minor warning to prevent a ship attempting to loot crude oil from the Al-Dabba Port.”

“The Armed Forces will not hesitate to prevent any ship from trying to plunder the wealth of the Yemeni people,” Saree stressed.

“We are able to launch more warning operations to defend Yemeni people,” he noted, adding, “We renew [our] warning to all companies to fully comply with the decisions of the authorities in [the Yemeni capital] Sana’a” and avoid contributing to the oil theft.”

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