Aid agencies fear impact in Yemen after US terror decision
The designation is to take effect on President Donald Trump’s last full day in office, a day before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on
The Biden transition team has not yet expressed his intentions.
The Iranian-supported Houthi rebels rule the capital and Yemen’s north where the majority of the population lives, forcing international aid groups to work with them. Agencies depend on the Houthis to deliver aid, and they pay salaries to Houthis to do so.
Sen.
“Good intentions must not be eclipsed by significant unintended consequences,” they warned. “Yemen imports 90 percent of its food. In light of near-famine conditions ... this designation will have a devastating effect on Yemen’s food supply and other critical imports unless the executive branch acts now to issue the necessary licenses, waivers and appropriate guidance prior to designation.”
Dujarric also said it is “imperative for the
Six years of war between a
Most of
Some aid agencies said they were considering pulling out foreign staff.
They warned that even if the
Houthi officials were defiant over the
“We are not fearful,” tweeted the head of the group’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee,
In
The
But the
The Houthis,
The rebels have been implicated in stealing aid and using aid access to extort concessions and money, as well as in a catalog of human rights abuses including rape and torture of dissidents.
The
Humanitarian groups said even with special
Janti Soeripto, president of Save the Children, criticized the “chaotic manner” by which the
Delays or confusion in the license-issuing process could slow or disrupt imports of food, medicine and fuel.
“Yemen’s faltering economy will be dealt a further devastating blow,” said
If international banks retreat from any dealings with Yemen’s Houthi-dominated banking system, aid agencies and NGOs could be crippled because they must use the banks to move funds, pay salaries and keep operations running. A main income source for individual Yemenis — remittances from relatives abroad — could also be affected.
Once the designation is in effect, the
He said the
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