Houthis Threaten to Launch Terrorist Attacks in Response to Security Council Condemnation
Arab World
Aden - Ali Rabih
The Iran-backed Houthi militia responded to a UN Security Council statement condemning its attack on the al-Dabba port in Hadramout by threatening to expand its attacks and warning that it could resort to any option to target local energy facilities and maritime trade. The militias have targeted two oil ports on the Arabian Sea in the Hadramout and Shabwa governorates. The attacks drew Arab and international condemnation amid the militias' efforts to force the legitimate government to pay the militants' salaries in its control areas and share crude oil sales proceeds. The Security Council statement described the Houthi attack on the oil port in Hadramout as "terrorist," saying it is a severe threat to peace and stability in Yemen. In response, the Houthi foreign ministry issued a statement accusing the Security Council of attempting to manipulate the facts and adopting double standards. The militias tried to evade the consequences of their actions and legitimize them by claiming they aimed to protect Yemeni wealth. They said the attacks "were not an aggressive or offensive message" in international waters or shipping lanes, but instead a warning inside Yemeni territorial waters. The statement threatened to repeat the attacks on a larger scale, saying that all options are open for a broader range of strict measures. The Houthi statement renewed the group's demands, which the Security Council described as "extremist," regarding the payment of the salaries of its militants and the lifting of UN restrictions on the sea and air ports under its control to smuggle Iranian weapons. It called on the Council to issue a new binding resolution to prepare the negotiations for a peaceful political settlement to reach a comprehensive peace. Meanwhile, Yemenis await the results of the efforts of UN envoy Hans Grundberg in the coming days after the militias rejected his proposal to extend and expand the armistice. The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council and the legitimate government approved the proposal for humanitarian purposes. There are fears that the Houthi intransigence would reignite the clashes on various fronts after a relative calm throughout the six months of the truce that began on April 2, and the militias refused to extend it for the third time on October 2. The Yemeni government welcomed the recent Security Council condemnation, pointing to "the urgent need to deter the Iranian-back terrorist Houthi militias and their actions that threaten regional and international peace and security." The Yemeni statement underlined "the necessity to punish the perpetrators of the attacks and support the Yemeni government's decision to include the Houthi militias on the list of terrorist organizations."
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3959906/houthis-threaten-launch-terrorist-attacks-response-security-council
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