News / Yemen

Yemenis protest against US blacklisting of Houthis

Wednesday, 20 January 2021 6:58 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 20 January 2021 7:16 PM ]

Yemenis gesture as they chant slogans during a demonstration against the outgoing US administration's decision to designate the the Houthi Ansarullah movement as a “terrorist” organization in the capital Sana'a on January 20, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

Yemenis have protested against a move by Washington to label the Houthi Ansarullah movement as a “terrorist” organization.

The streets of the capital Sana’a as well as those in several towns of the province of Ibb on Wednesday witnessed demonstrations against the US.

The White House is the “main sponsor of terrorism in the world.” That is what the crowd in the Yemeni capital chanted.

“We've come out to say the United States is the mother of terrorism and doesn't have the right to classify anyone as terrorist,” a demonstrator told AFP.

Hizam al-Assad, a member of the political office of Ansarullah, denounced the “continued aggression against the Yemeni people by US administrations.”

In Ibb, protests were held in four districts including Yarim.

Yemeni protesters believe the "foolish" move by the US aims to help tighten the Saudi-led siege of Yemen.

US decision to sanction Yemen’s Ansarullah badge of pride for movement: Spokesman

The spokesman for Yemen’s Ansarullah movement says the blacklisting of the group means it has been successfully in standing against US interests.

On January 10, then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the designation in defiance of aid groups who fear worsening of a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

The United Nations, the European Union, and aid groups, as well as lawmakers inside the United States have censured the move.

But Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a key party to the Riyadh-led coalition against Yemen, have been positive about it.

Since late 2014, Houthis have been running state affairs following the resignation of the Riyadh-back President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Months later in March 2015, the Saudi regime and a number of its allies launched the deadly war on Yemen to reinstall Hadi, but the campaign has flatly failed in the face of stiff resistance by the Yemeni armed forces.

The designation took effect on January 19, one day before the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Tuesday the new administration would "immediately" review the blacklisting of the movement.

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