12 January,2021 05:23 AM IST | Cairo | Agencies
A malnourished Yemeni child awaits treatment at a hospital in the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen. File pic/AFP
Yemen's Iran-backed rebels on Monday dismissed the US move to designate them a terrorist organisation in the final days of the Trump administration while a leading aid agency warned such a label would deal another "devastating blow" to the impoverished and war-torn nation.
The planned designation, announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late Sunday, would take effect a day before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated January 20. It was not clear whether Biden would overturn the decision.
Pompeo said he was proceeding with the designation of the rebels, known as Houthis, along with separate terrorist designations for the three top rebel leaders.
Hours later, several senior rebel figures slammed Pompeo's announcement. "We are not fearful," tweeted Mohammed Ali al-Houthi. "America is the source of terrorism. It's directly involved in killing and starving the Yemeni people."
The Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the main humanitarian agencies active in the country, said on Monday that the planned sanctions "will hamstring the ability of aid agencies to respond" to the humanitarian needs of millions of Yemenis.
"Yemen's faltering economy will be dealt a further devastating blow," said Mohamed Abdi, the group's director for Yemen. "Getting food and medicine into Yemen - a country 80% dependent on imports - will become even more difficult." Pompeo said the US recognises the designation could impact the humanitarian situation and would take action to counter that.
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