WASHINGTON: The United States announced on Wednesday that it will put Houthi fighters back on a list of “terrorist” entities due to their repeated attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have already faced multiple rounds of air strikes in response to their targeting of merchant vessels, and vowed after the designation announcement that they would continue attacks they say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

“The Department of State today is announcing the designation of Ansarallah, commonly referred to as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, effective 30 days from today,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

“The Houthis must be held accountable for their actions, but it should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians,” he said.

“During the 30-day implementation delay, the US government will conduct robust outreach to stakeholders, aid providers, and partners who are crucial to facilitating humanitarian assistance and the commercial import of critical commodities in Yemen,” Blinken said.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the designation “is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions.” “If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation,” Sullivan said in a statement. The Houthis, however, said that they will not call off their strikes.

“We will not give up targeting Israeli ships or ships heading towards ports in occupied Palestine… in support of the Palestinian people,” the group’s spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam told Al Jazeera TV, adding that they would respond to new strikes on Yemen by the United States or Britain.

While the Houthis say they have been targeting Israeli-linked vessels, Washington says dozens of countries have connections to the ships that have been attacked.

The “terrorist” designation is part of Washington’s strategy to put pressure on the Houthis, which also includes military action against them, and the establishment of an international coalition to help protect shipping from the attacks.

On Tuesday, the US military said it destroyed four anti-ship missiles in Yemen that posed an imminent threat to military and civilian vessels.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2024