The Houthis have demanded that British and American aid workers, including Yemeni nationals with dual nationality, leave the country within 30 days as action between Iran-backed groups and Western countries continues to escalate.
A letter from the Ministry of Yemen states: “The Ministry reiterates the need to inform all officials and workers with American and British citizenship that they are preparing to leave the country within a maximum of 30 days from the date of this decision. I want to emphasize that.” This was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also [the humanitarian organizations] During this period, do not hire dual national employees from the above countries,” the ministry added.
The Houthis, who the United States recently reclassified as a terrorist group although not a foreign terrorist organization, have taken control of the Foreign Ministry since seizing the presidential palace and taking control of Yemen's capital in 2015. The group dissolved parliament and placed its own committees under government control.
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On Friday, January 19, supporters of the Houthi movement rallied in Sanaa, Yemen, to denounce the United States' designation of the group as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” group. (Reuters/Khaled Abdullah)
The British embassy said its staff had not yet been told to leave and was in close contact with the United Nations on the issue.
“The United Nations is providing vital support to the Yemeni people through the very sea routes that the Houthis are endangering,” the British Mission in Yemen said in a statement. “Nothing should interfere with their ability to perform.”
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Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak (pictured) speaks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkiye, December 22, 2022. (Murat Gok/Anadolu Agency, via Getty Images)
The letter applies to staff of the United Nations and humanitarian aid organizations based in Sanaa, following attacks by a coalition of allies led by the United States and Britain in retaliation for raids and attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.
The coalition's first offensive hit more than 60 targets in 16 locations, and the latest attack, carried out overnight into Wednesday, prompted the Houthis to call for the expulsion of the foreigners responsible from the country, according to Sky News. .
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A Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft takes off from Akrotiri, Cyprus, on a mission to attack targets in Yemen, Thursday, January 11, 2024. Later that day, U.S. and British forces bombed more than a dozen strongholds used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. On Thursday, U.S. officials announced a major retaliatory attack using Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets launched from warships and submarines. (British Ministry of Defence, Sergeant Lee Goddard, via AP)
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps hailed the strike as a “success” and praised the “dedication, professionalism and skill” of those involved. He claimed the attack had resulted in “reducing the Houthis' ability to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent seafarers.”
The United States said the attack destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were preparing to attack commercial ships in the southern Red Sea.
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Although the Houthis have claimed that they are targeting only ships linked to Israeli trading interests in order to disrupt Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip, Washington and London have argued that the attacks are more likely to affect the wider world. He claimed that it was affecting trade.
The United Nations Security Council on January 10 calls on the Houthis to stop attacks on shipping lanes after the group ignored a formal statement from the US-led coalition calling for an end to attacks on shipping lanes. The resolution was adopted.
Reuters contributed to this report.
