Global condemnation on the rise against Houthis terror acts

Demand is growing across international fronts for re-designating Yemen's Houthis a terrorist group. In view of the increasing terror acts perpetrated by the Houthi group in the Gulf region, world governments and international institutions are calling on Washington to re-include the Iran-backed Houthi militia in its list of designated terrorist groups.

 

Acts of terror in Gulf

The Ansar Allah group, popularly known as the Houthi movement, had been actively threatening the livelihood and infrastructure in Yemen since several years. In recent months, Houthis have launched multiple missile attacks in Saudi Arabia, targeting civilians and energy infrastructure across the Kingdom. In addition, Houthis have been accused of criminals acts involving sea piracy and attacking civilian ships passing along the Red Sea.

 

Iran backing Houthi terrorism

Reportedly, Iran has expanded its support to the terror activities of the Yemen-based Houthi militia by sending complex weapons to the rebels. Last year, Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s top official for policy in the Middle East, expressed concerns over Tehran's increasing lethality and complexity of transfer of both equipment and knowledge to the Houthis to target Saudi Kingdom.

 

Child crimes and recruitment

Years of acts of terror led by Houthis in Yemen has results in several civilian casualties, particularly among children. According to a study by a child relief agency, more than 2,300 children were killed between 2018 and 2020 in the Yemeni crisis. Furthermore, a report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and the SAM for Rights and Liberties highlighted that Houthis have forcibly recruited more than 10,000 children in Yemen since 2014 and put them in hostile areas across the areas controlled by them. Several institutions have raised warnings of dangerous consequences against children due to forced recruitment and terrorist activities.

 

Washington mulls terror designation

Significantly, world leaders and international agencies have associated the Houthi movement with "terrorism" and its rebels with "terrorist".

Joining the global call, Yemen’s Prime Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed said that such criminal acts require the Houthis to be labelled as a terrorist organization.

"More pressure needs to be applied to stop these terrorist crimes that threaten regional and international peace and stability," he said.

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden stated that his administration is mulling re-designating Yemen's Houthis as an international terrorist organization.