Yemen’s internationally recognized government has backed a call by Saudi Arabia for the international community to designate the Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organization, which it said should be punished for impeding peace initiatives.
The government said that since the Houthis took control of the country by force in late 2014, they have rejected all efforts to end the war in the country, including a plan proposed by Saudi Arabia last year.
This month, the group refused to renew a UN-brokered truce that had been in place for six months. They have planted thousands of landmines, ruthlessly suppress residents of the areas under their control, and have abducted hundreds of Yemeni citizens, including women.
“The Houthi militias have caused the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, in addition to the millions of dead, injured and displaced people, and committed war crimes and egregious human rights violations. They should be swiftly classified as terrorist organizations,” the Yemeni government said in a statement carried by SABA, the official Yemen News Agency.
On Tuesday, the Saudi Cabinet reiterated its support for the efforts of the international community to bring peace to Yemen and urged the world to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization and take action to cut off its sources of funding.
In Yemen, government officials and others who support of the call for a terrorist designation argue that the international community,—Agencies
