US to review Yemen group’s designation

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will quickly revisit the designation of Yemen’s Ansar Allah fighters as terrorists, his pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said. At his confirmation hearing, Blinken said he would “immediately” review the outgoing Trump administration’s labelling of the group, fearing the move was worsening a humanitarian crisis. “At least on its surface, (the designation) seems to achieve nothing particularly practical in advancing the efforts against the Ansar Allah and to bring them back to the negotiating table while making it even more difficult than it already is to provide humanitarian assistance to people who desperately need it,” Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Donald Trump’s administration announced the move on January 11. Trump has been a staunch ally of Saudi Arabia-led coalition, offering US logistical help for its six-year campaign to dislodge the fighters who have taken over much of the neighbouring country. The new administration would end support to the Saudi campaign. “The Ansar Allah group bears significant responsibility for what’s happened in Yemen, but the way the campaign has been conducted has also contributed significantly to that situation. And so our support should end,” Blinken said. The United Nations and aid groups have warned the terrorist designation risks worsening the plight of a country where millions depend on aid to survive. The designation took effect on Tuesday, with the Ansar Allah warning they would respond to any action against them. “We are ready to take all necessary measures against any hostile act,” they said in a statement. On Wednesday, hundreds of supporters of the Ansar Allah fighters took to the streets of the capital Sanaa to protest against the terror designation. “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 said. Hizam al Assad, a member of the Ansar Allah’s political office, condemned “the continued aggression against the Yemeni people by US administrations”. The designation is expected to halt many transactions with Ansar Allah authorities, including bank transfers and payments to medical personnel and for food and fuel, due to fears of US prosecution. The US Department of the Treasury, however, has issued humanitarian exemptions under which it would be permissible for aid organisations to deal with the Ansar Allah fighters, according to its website. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, responsible for overseas sanctions, had “issued four general licences to facilitate the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian assistance and certain other critical commodities to the people of Yemen”. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called on the United States to reverse the Trump administration’s move. “Our position on this has not changed,” Dujarric said. “We call on the government to reverse that decision.” — AFP