Houthis Threaten to Block US Ships in Retaliation for Terrorist Designation
Newly recruited Houthi fighters take part in a gathering in the capital Sanaa to mobilize more fighters to battlefronts to fight pro-government forces in several Yemeni cities, on January 3, 2017
CAIRO (Sputnik) – Yemeni movement Ansar Allah, known as the Houthis, is considering a ban on US ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the resumption of full-scale military operations in Yemen as retaliatory measures for the US’s designation of the movement as a foreign terrorist organization, a source in the movement told Sputnik. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an order launching the process of designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. On Thursday, the Houthis said that this decision was directed against the entire people of Yemen and was revenge for Yemen’s “noble” position in supporting the Palestinians. “The movement is considering taking measures against America, including imposing a ban on the passage of US ships through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea,” the source said. The Houthis would also bar the passage of ships from any country that follows the US example of listing the movement as a terrorist organization, the source added. 
MilitaryHouthis Claim Sixth Attack on US Aircraft Carrier in Red Sea15 January, 17:50 GMTOne of the possible measures that the movement could take is “countering any military escalation that the US may take in response to the ban on the passage of its ships, as well as ending the truce in Yemen and resuming hostilities on all fronts,” the source said.
