Washington to remove Houthis from terror blacklist

WASHINGTON • The US intends to revoke the Houthi movement's terrorist designation in response to Yemen's humanitarian crisis, reversing one of the Trump administration's most criticised last-minute decisions.

The move, confirmed by a State Department official on Friday, came a day after President Joe Biden declared a halt to US support for the Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen, widely seen as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Mr Biden also named veteran diplomat Timothy Lenderking as the US special envoy for Yemen as part of efforts to step up American diplomacy "to end the war in Yemen, a war which has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe".

The UN has described Yemen as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, with 80 per cent of its people in need. Last month, the UN's aid chief warned that new sanctions would push Yemen into a famine on a scale not seen for nearly 40 years.

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo blacklisted the Houthis on Jan 19, one day before Mr Biden took office.

A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed "common challenges" faced by Washington and Riyadh in his first phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, the official Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.

State Department spokesman Ned Price also noted that Mr Biden made clear the US still supported Saudi Arabia outside the Yemen war. He described the administration's stance as a "return to standard procedures" in reviewing every arms deal.

Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have welcomed Mr Biden's stance.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE