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Why the Houthis have been classified as a terrorist group

 

Houthis


The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday labelled the Houthis as a terrorist group for the first time. The council also imposed an arms embargo on Houthis.

The Houthi group is an Islamist political and armed group ofYemen. The council agreed to expand a targeted U.N. arms embargo on several Houthi leaders to the whole group to limit the capacity of the Houthis to conduct cross-border attacks in Saudi Arabia by expanding an arms embargo to the entire group.

The group has been classified as a terrorist group because of its recent attacks on Gulf countries. The Houthis launched attacks against Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. The council condemned a series of attacks by the Houthis.

Crimes against civilians in Yemen

Since 2004, crimes and human rights violations committed by the Houthi militia against civilians have increased in Yemen. The group is responsible for kidnappings, torture of prisoners, bombings of houses and trees. Reportedly, the Houthis plant mines randomly, without differentiating between military or civilian sites. Mine explosions near homes, schools, mosques, and markets have been a daily occurrence in Yemen. Crimes committed against women are severe which include murder, maiming, detention, kidnapping and sexual violence.

Attacks against Saudi Arabia

A Saudi-led, United States-backed coalition, intervened in Yemen in 2015 to push back the rebels after the Houthis ousted the government from the country. The coalition wanted to restore the Gulf-backed government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Cross-border attacks have been a regular occurrence since the coalition’s 2015 intervention in Yemen’s civil war. The coalition has been fighting the Houthis for seven years.

The Houthis also recruited children to fight battles for them. Many children died in Amran, Hajjah, Hodeida, Dhamar, Ibb, Saada, and Sanaa during fights. Houthis also launched indiscriminate ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia. The US also condemned the terrorist attack by the Houthis that struck the commercial airport in Abha, Saudi Arabia, injuring at least a dozen innocent civilians.

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