Gulf states call for Huthis to be considered a “terrorist group”

Ocountries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) today asked the international community to designate the Huthis rebels of Yemen “as a terrorist group” due to their “threats to peace” in the Middle East.

Composed of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, the GCC requested in a statement that the Huthi militia be “classified as a terrorist group and treated in the same way as the international community treats terrorist groups that threaten peace, security, development and prosperity”.

The statement came after a meeting at the level of the Foreign Ministers of this political and economic alliance, which stressed that “all aid” should be stopped allowing this insurgent Allied group of Iran to “acquire missiles and drones”.

Several countries, such as the United States, Canada or the United Arab Emirates, have already designated the Huthis as a terrorist organization, despite UN warnings that this may have serious humanitarian consequences for the population living in Yemen under the control of the rebels.

Today's meeting, held in the capital of Bahrain, Manama, focused on the escalation of attacks between the Huthis and Saudi Arabia, a country whose energy assets and civilian facilities are being attacked by the Shia movement that caused dozens of wounded and killed.

The GCC reaffirmed its solidarity with Riyadh and reiterated its support for “all the measures it takes to safeguard its sovereignty and protect its security and interests”, and that the stability of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf “is indivisible”.

“Any attack on a Member State is a direct attack on all GCC states in accordance with the Joint Defense Agreement,” reads in the statement, which refers to the right to self-defense, both individual and collective, under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.