Yemen Government Demands U.S. Re-Classify Houthis as "Terror" Group
Yemen's internationally recognized government has requested the U.S. and the international community to classify the Houthis as terrorists for jeopardizing shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Yemen Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan said during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Riyadh on Sunday that the U.S. should reinstate the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization. According to Haidan, threatening maritime traffic off Yemeni shores is not the only reason for blacklisting the Houthis. Another reason is killing Yemeni children, abusing human rights, and acting as a proxy group for Iran, he said. The Houthis have repeatedly said being blacklisted or called terrorists will not threaten their existence.
Yemeni Defense Minister, Major General Mohsen Al-Dhaeri, held a meeting today in Aden with the Egyptian Ambassador to Yemen, Ahmed Farouk. The meeting discussed the developments in Yemen in light of the ongoing piracy activities of the Houthi group in the Red Sea. Al-Daeri said the Houthi attacks on ships pose a threat to international navigation routes, accusing the group of rejecting peace proposals offered by Saudi Arabia and the United Nations. On November 19, the Houthi group seized an Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea off Yemen. Another attempted seizure of an oil tanker was foiled on Sunday as the government accuses the Houthis of being behind the attack.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early on Monday that two ballistic missiles had been launched from areas in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels towards an American destroyer in the Gulf of Aden. The missiles landed in the water about 10 nautical miles (11.5 miles) from the ships, with no reported damage or injuries. This came after an Israeli-linked tanker had been seized off the coast of Yemen on Monday. A group of ships led by the USS Mason responded to a distress call from the crew of the M/V Central Park, a commercial vessel that reported being under attack by an "unknown entity". Previously, the Houthis had threatened to target ships owned or operated by Israeli companies as a "support for Gaza," urging nations to withdraw their citizens working within the crews of these ships.
The International Organization for Migration announced today, Monday, the displacement of 42 Yemeni families during the past week. In its weekly report, the organization stated that its displacement tracking matrix recorded the displacement of 42 families, representing 252 individuals, from November 19 to 25. It indicated that the displaced families belonged to Al-Hudaydah, Marib and Hadramout. According to U.N. statistics, the total number of displaced people from January 1 to November 25, 2023, has risen to 9,571 families, representing 57,426 individuals. Since the start of the war in 201, over 4.5 million Yemenis have been displaced.
Two children were killed in a landmine explosion in the central province of Al-Bayda, said the Yemen Mine Observatory on Monday. The names of the two children are Farhan Abdu Al-Hameiqani, 7 years old, and Ali Abdulrab Al-Babki, 13 years old. The two were grazing sheep in the village of Al-Mardam in the Al-Zahir district in Al-Bayda governorate. The Observatory added that all areas of Al-Zahir district, specifically in Al-Hameiqan, are contaminated with mines, explosive devices, and remnants of war.
