EU must step up pressure on Houthis, says Yemen foreign minister

EU must step up pressure on Houthis, says Yemen foreign minister

By Julia Payne

Yemen's foreign minister urged the European Union on Thursday to increase pressure on the Iran-aligned Houthis who are attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, a vital global trade artery.

Houthi militants, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have launched waves of drones and missiles at vessels heading to and from Egypt's Suez Canal since November.

They say their actions are a demonstration of solidarity with the Palestinians amid Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza but the attacks have disrupted shipping, prompting U.S. and British strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

The 27-nation EU aims to launch its own Red Sea naval mission by mid-February to help protect ships there.

"Just striking the Houthis won't do enough. We need mid and long term solutions," Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, foreign minister in Yemen's Aden-based government that is backed by Saudi Arabia, told reporters ahead of talks with EU officials.

"The EU has the wrong approach. They need to exercise more pressure on the Houthis such as by designating them as a terrorist group. Their argument is that if they adopt this then it will worsen the humanitarian situation," he said.

"But this approach didn't work. The Houthis are still blackmailing the international community and the humanitarian situation has not improved."

He also called for more EU support for building Yemeni institutions such as the coastguard and for humanitarian aid to be channelled through the central bank in Aden.

"Houthis will never stop... They have the ideology that as a group they have a divine right (to rule) in Yemen," he said, adding that they were also part of Iran's regional strategy.

He said the West's lack of a "clear path" to ending the conflict in Gaza and securing justice for the Palestinians was strengthening "all the extremists groups in our region".