Above photo: Getty Images.
The Biden administration reversed Ansarallah’s terrorist designation in 2021.
Due to the humanitarian threat it posed to areas under the control of the Sanaa government.
Washington is gearing up to label Yemen’s Ansarallah resistance movement a “specifically designated global terrorist group,” sources in the know told the Associated Press (AP) on 16 January.
The decision, expected to be announced in the coming days, is in response to the continued maritime campaign launched by Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government in Sanaa against Israeli shipping in the Red Sea.
The designation falls in line with Executive Order 13224, issued during the presidency of George W. Bush.
It allows the US government to “designate and block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism,” as well as the assets of those who “provide support, services, or assistance to, or otherwise associate with, terrorists.”
The US reversed Ansarallah’s terrorist designation in 2021, which had been put in place by the government of former US president Donald Trump.
The reversal followed concerns that the designation could hinder aid access for Yemenis in the areas under the control of the government of Sanaa.
In February 2022, Hebrew media revealed that the UAE had solicited Israel to push Washington to reinstate Ansarallah’s terrorist designation.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on 16 January that the US was assessing whether to re-designate Ansarallah as a terrorist group.
The potential designation has raised concerns once again.
“This designation would add another level of uncertainty and threat for Yemenis still caught in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. The Biden administration is playing with fire and we call on them to avoid this designation immediately and prioritize the lives of Yemenis now,” said Scott Paul, associate director of Oxfam in the US.
The US and UK have bombed Yemen three times over the past five days, with the latest strike taking place on Tuesday. Washington claimed it struck and destroyed Yemeni ballistic missiles.
Ansarallah and the Yemeni armed forces have responded to the bombings by attacking US ships.
The government of Sanaa has vowed to continue naval operations in support of Palestine and have said that US attacks will not deter their counter-attacks.
Yemen has also repeatedly clarified that it will not target any ship that is not Israeli-linked or headed for Israeli ports.
“We reiterate that there is no ban on any ship except those linked to the criminal Zionist enemy or those heading to its ports in occupied Palestine,” Ansarallah spokesman Muhammad Abdel Salam said on 16 January.
The government in Sanaa is one of three parallel governments operating in Yemen, with the other two enjoying support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Heading an Arab coalition in 2015, Riyadh launched a ferocious war on Ansarallah, who had taken control over the capital.
A large segment of Yemen’s military is aligned with Ansarallah. The Ansarallah-led administration in Sanaa governs around 80 percent of the Yemeni population, enjoying popular support, which has increased since the start of the pro-Palestinian campaign against Israeli shipping.