U.S. plan to label Yemen's rebels as terrorists sparks fears of a humanitarian disaster
Source: Washington Post
U.S. plan to label Yemen’s rebels as terrorists sparks fears of a humanitarian disaster
By Missy Ryan and John Hudson
11/20/2020, 4:22:32 p.m.
The Trump administration’s plan to designate Yemen’s Houthi rebel movement a foreign terrorist group, part of an 11th-hour effort to pile pressure on Iran and its allies, has left officials and aid workers scrambling to a prepare for a move critics warn could have catastrophic consequences.
Individuals familiar with the discussion said officials are racing ahead of an expected December announcement to draft exceptions that would, in theory, make it easier for U.S. and other aid agencies to continue their work without fear of breaking the law.
The administrative carve-outs would be designed to allow aid groups to continue operating in Yemen — where a long-running war has helped spawn a humanitarian crisis — without fear of sanctions or prosecution for links to a terrorist organization.
But aid groups are already expressing alarm that those measures will fail to avert a dramatic reduction in lifesaving assistance and commercial shipments of food and other items to a nation teetering on the brink of famine. They also fear the designation could sabotage hopes for a peace deal and prolong a war in which hundreds of thousands of people have died.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-administration-yemen-houthi-rebels-terrorism/2020/11/20/249ed812-2a6d-11eb-b847-66c66ace1afb_story.html
