US Politicians Warn of Humanitarian Consequences of Ansarullah Terror Designation

According to Press TV, on January 10, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defied warnings from humanitarian groups and announced the blacklisting of Ansarullah.

The designation is set to come into force on January 19, the eve of the inauguration of Biden, whose aides have hoped to mount a fresh push to end the US-backed Saudi war on Yemen.

It freezes any US-related assets of the Ansarullah fighters, bans Americans from doing business with them and makes it a crime to provide support or resources to the movement.

In a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, Jake Sullivan, Biden's pick for national security advisor, said the last-minute designation of the Ansarullah Movement “will only inflict more suffering on Yemeni people and impede diplomacy critical to end the war.”

Similarly on Friday, 25 members of Congress, led by Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, wrote a letter to Pompeo about the short-sighted decision by the outgoing US administration.

They underscored the disastrous consequences of the designation and demanded information on the process that led to the rushed policy decision in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

“Designating the Ansarullah Movement a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) will make it much harder to deliver vital life-saving assistance since, even with humanitarian waivers or licenses for certain assistance provided by the Treasury Department, many aid organizations will be unable to continue their operations due to legal liability and financial risk involved,” the letter read.

“Therefore, we again express our deep concern with and opposition to the intent to designate the Ansarullah Movement as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Licenses alone cannot ensure Yemenis don’t face further obstacles accessing food, medicine, fuel and other necessary goods and services, and thus, we will be urging the incoming Biden administration to fully reverse the designation.”

The American lawmakers further warned that the designation “will not help resolve the conflict nor provide justice for the violations and abuses committed during the war; it will only compound the crisis for millions of Yemenis fighting for their survival.”