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Security Council condemns Houthi attacks on Abu Dhabi as ‘terrorist acts’, impact on war unclear | | AW
“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”
Security Council condemns Houthi attacks on Abu Dhabi as ‘terrorist acts’, impact on war unclear
The statement said the attacks were claimed by the Houthis, and took a strong stance by labelling them as “terrorist.”
Saturday 22/01/2022
Yemeni pro-government fighters man a position in Ataq city, the capital of the province of Shabwa, east of the Red Sea port of Aden, January 18, 2022. (AFP)
UNITED NATIONS, New York -
The UN Security Council unanimously condemned the deadly attacks on Abu Dhabi by Yemen’s Iran-baked Houthis as “heinous terrorist attacks” and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
The declaration on the Houthis came after a drone and missile attack by the Yemen rebels, Monday, near oil storage facilities in Abu Dhabi left three civilians dead, two Indian nationals and a Pakistani.
Police said “small flying objects” were found at both sites, pointing to a deliberate attack using drones — a hallmark of the Houthis.
Six civilians were injured in the attacks.
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous terrorist attacks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, 17 January, as well as in other sites in Saudi Arabia,” the council said in a statement drafted by the United Arab Emirates.
“The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”
The statement said the attacks were claimed by the Houthis, and took a strong stance by labelling them as “terrorist.”
It was released ahead of a special closed session of the UN Security Council requested by the UAE, a non-permanent member of the council since January 1.
The Emirates has had a major role in the Saudi-led coalition defending the internationally-recognised government of Yemen against the Houthis in the more than six-year-old conflict.
Although it announced a troop withdrawal from Yemen in 2019, the UAE has remained involved by supporting and training forces loyal to the legitimate government.
The attack Monday followed the Houthis’ defeat in Yemen’s Shabwa province to the UAE-trained Giants Brigade, which dealt a blow to the Iran backed militias’ hopes of capturing the key city of Marib in the neighbouring governorate.
Washington Institute analysts Alex Almeida and Michael Knights believe that, “despite the likelihood that the January 17 attack will strengthen international condemnation of the Houthis and solidarity with the UAE, the Iran-backed group probably took this risky step because it fears battlefield setbacks more than diplomatic isolation.”
According to a US statement, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and condemned Monday’s Houthi attacks on the kingdom and the UAE. Blinken reiterated US commitment to help Gulf Arab partners improve defence capabilities against threats from Yemen and elsewhere in the region and “underscored the importance of mitigating civilian harm.”
Most experts believe the Houthi attack on Abu Dhabi would not have been carried out by the Houthis without prior knowledge and approval of Iran, which raises questions about Washington’s future policy in Yemen.
President Joe Biden said this Week that the US is considering the re-designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organisation.
In moves that disappointed Gulf countries after his inauguration, Biden had suspended US participation in “offensive military actions” in Yemen in support of the Saudi-led Arab coalition. He also reversed a last-minute Trump administration decision placing the Houthis on the US list of foreign terrorist groups.
“Washington can help preserve the recent coalition gains by categorising the campaign as defensive, deterring further Houthi attacks abroad, and leveraging the next military deadlock to reinvigorate peace talks,” said Almeida and Knights.
Separately, a prison in Saada — the home city of the Houthi rebel movement — was struck, Friday, killing and injuring scores, according to Doctors without Borders.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said the prison hit by the airstrike hadn’t been reported to either the UN or the Red Cross as a site needing to be protected.
Saudi Brigadier General Turki al-Malki told Saudi state TV, Saturday, the failure by Yemen’s Houthis to report the site to international authorities reflected the militias’ “usual deceptive approach.”
Also, speaking after the Security Council meeting, UAE Ambassador to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh said the coalition fighting Yemen’s pro-Iranian rebels is committed to “proportionate” responses to Houthi attacks.
“The coalition undertakes to abide by international law and proportionate response in all its military operations,” she said.
The newest strikes in Yemen were “not acceptable,” said Mona Juul, the Norwegian ambassador to the UN, who called for “de-escalation and restraint” in the conflict.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called on all parties to the conflict “to de-escalate, abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, and participate fully in an inclusive UN-led peace process.”
The impact of UN condemnation of the Houthis and the recent setbacks of the Iran-backed militias on the Yemen war remains unclear. Analysts believe much in the next stage will depend on the calculations of the Houthis and Iranian patrons about they think they stand to gain and lose in continuing their faltering military campaign in Yemen despite its high humanitarian toll.
