U.S. sanctions come after Biden’s administration lifted the ‘Foreign Terrorist’ designation for the organization.
The Houthi movement fighting in Yemen has said sanctions by the United States against two of its leaders will extend the war and exacerbate the country ‘s humanitarian crisis.
The U.S. announced sanctions Tuesday against Mansur al-Sa’adi, Chief of Staff of the Houthi Naval Forces, and Ahmad Ali Ahsan al-Hamzi, commander of the Yemeni Air Force and Youth Air Defense Forces, taking reference to their alleged roles in cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping vessels.
The move comes after President Joe Biden’s administration erected a Trump-era construction of the Houthis as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization”, which banned Americans from doing business with them and made the crime to support or resource the movement.
The designation has been criticized by the United Nations and human rights groups, which said it could further impact the economy of a country already embroiled in what the U.S. calls the worst humanitarian crisis. in the world.
However, some observers have said the return of the label has put too much pressure off the Houthis, who, along with the Saudi – led coalition they have formed. fighting since 2015, accused of human rights abuses and war crimes.
“America is criticizing itself and asserting that they do not intend to stop the invasion … and that it is standing behind the escalation of the war and getting worse than the humanitarian crisis,” he said. Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam on Wednesday, according to the group ‘s Al Masirah TV channel.
Continuing to fight
The U.S. has said it is rethinking pressure for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which began when the Houthis removed Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from the capital Aden in 2014 and has co-opted. at least 16 million people were pushed to starvation.
Last month, the Biden administration announced that it was ending support for “offensive operations” for the Saudi coalition in Yemen and would end the sale of some arms to the country. The administration, however, promised to continue supporting Riyadh’s defense operations.
The Biden administration is expected to use a recently released intelligence report, which said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, to pressure Riyadh to end its conflict.
The Houthis, for their part, have continued to target Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and drones in the past few days. The attacks come as the Saudi coalition has hit the rebels with airstrikes in an attempt to halt their progress on Marib, the government’s last stronghold in northern Yemen.