Yemen strikes: Houthis hit US-owned ship after ‘terror’ designation
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have struck a Red Sea vessel owned by the United States, following Washington’s announcement of the group’s reclassification as “global terrorists.”
The rebels claimed to have targeted the “Genco Picardy” bulk carrier with missiles, resulting in a “direct hit,” while the US military reported that a drone hit the vessel on Wednesday evening.
The recent reclassification by Washington mandates freezing Houthi funds in US financial institutions and imposes a ban on Houthi members entering the US. The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are seen as a retaliatory response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Earlier this month, the UK and US conducted airstrikes on numerous Houthi targets in Yemen to thwart the group’s attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
A Houthi spokesperson stated on Wednesday that they had successfully targeted the Genco Picardy, citing it as a response to “American-British aggression against our country.” The US military confirmed damage to the vessel but reported no injuries, emphasizing its seaworthiness.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan justified the re-designation of the Houthis as “global terrorists” in response to their attacks on commercial shipping in the region.
This decision reverses Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s 2021 move to remove the rebels from the US Specially Designated Global Terrorist List.
Sullivan noted that the recent Houthi attacks met the definition of terrorism, endangering US personnel and disrupting global trade operations.
He added that a cessation of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden would prompt an immediate re-evaluation of the terrorist designation.
In the waning days of the Trump administration officials imposed the SDGT and foreign terrorist organization (FTO) labels on the Houthis.
This action was taken despite warnings from the UN and aid groups that it could push war-torn Yemen into a large-scale famine.
But in 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, that decision was reversed by Mr Blinken, the newly installed Secretary of State. He cited the dire humanitarian situation faced by the people of Yemen.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, senior administration officials defended the decision to reinstate the SDGT designation but not the FTO designation, which they said had been taken to ensure the continued flow of aid into Yemen.
“It was the correct step to revoke,” one official said, arguing that it was a move taken in “recognition of a very dire humanitarian situation” in the country and to ensure that “US policies weren’t impeding” civilians’ access to urgent aid.
But they accepted that the Houthis’ campaign of attacks on commercial shipping, which has now seen dozens of missiles fired at vessels in the Red Sea, has become “unacceptable”.
The new SDGT designation will also bar people and companies in the US from offering any support to the Houthis.
However, officials were keen to emphasize that a range of exemptions will be worked into the new designation to ensure humanitarian aid continues to flow into Yemen, a country devastated by almost a decade of civil war.
“We are rolling out unprecedented carve-outs and licenses to help prevent adverse impacts on the Yemeni people,” said Mr. Sullivan in his statement. “The people of Yemen should not pay the price for the actions of the Houthis.”
The Houthis began attacking merchant vessels in November, saying they were responding to Israel’s military operation in Gaza. Since then, the group has launched dozens of attacks on commercial tankers passing through the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
In response, the US and UK launched a wave of air strikes against dozens of Houthi targets on 11 January. The strikes – supported by Australia, Bahrain, the Netherlands, and Canada – began after Houthi forces ignored an ultimatum to cease their attacks in the region.
Biden administration officials denied that the new terrorist designation was an acceptance that the air campaign may not deter further Houthi attacks.
“We see these sanctions as one piece of a broader effort to bring the Houthis back from the terror attacks they are currently committing,” one official said. “Our sanctions are best not seen in isolation but as part of a broader effort.”
In the wake of last week’s strikes, the Houthis said the US and UK would “soon realize” the action was “the greatest folly in their history”.
“America and Britain made a mistake in launching the war on Yemen because they did not benefit from their previous experiences,” senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti wrote on social media.
Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that escalated in 2015 when the Houthis seized control of large parts of the west of the country from the internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore its rule.
The fighting has reportedly left more than 160,000 people dead and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with two-thirds of the population – 21 million people – in need of some form of aid.
