The Pentagon: Seizing a boat loaded with weapons smuggled to the Houthis

Ahmed Shaaban (Cairo, Washington)

Yesterday, the US military announced an operation carried out in the middle of last month by Western allies, which resulted in the seizure of a boat loaded with weapons and ammunition, believed to be heading to the terrorist “Houthi” militia in Yemen.
The Central Command of the US Army confirmed that more than 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 rounds of ammunition and 23 anti-tank guided missiles were found in the operation that took place on January 15.
The Central Command, which oversees US military operations across the Middle East, added that the United States supported the operation, but did not specify which partner led it.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the operation, that it was carried out by French special forces.
The Central Command pointed out, in a statement, that the operation was carried out “along routes that were historically used to illegally transfer weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.”
In the past months, Western parties have repeatedly announced the confiscation of weapons on their way to Yemen.
On January 6, US forces intercepted a fishing boat carrying more than 2,100 assault rifles destined for the “Houthis” in Yemen.
In December, US forces confiscated a vehicle loaded with tons of ammunition, chemicals, fuses and missile thrusters destined for the terrorist “Houthi” militia.
This comes as Yemeni political analysts warned that laxity in classifying the “Houthi” militia as a terrorist organization had a role in continuing its crimes, and stressed that this has become an urgent matter in light of the lack of a real desire on the part of the coup group to end the conflict and reach a comprehensive political solution. .
Yemeni political analyst Abdulmalik Al-Yousifi stressed that ending the conflict in Yemen is a clear demand of all the active countries, and there is a political track being worked on by the international community, to end the conflict, return the state and go to the benefits of a comprehensive solution, except that the intransigence of the “Houthi” militia and its prevarications remain the obstacle. The biggest front to end the conflict.
Al-Yousifi told Al-Ittihad that the militias did not implement any of the seven entitlements to extend the truce, including opening the crossings. Let alone if it comes to a comprehensive solution, and therefore resorting to armed force remains one of the options in the policy tools to end the conflict, and classify the Houthis as a terrorist organization.
For his part, the head of the Nashwan Al-Hamiry Center for Studies and Media, Adel Al-Ahmadi, said that the Houthi militia has been a terrorist group since the first day of its rebellion and war against civilians and the Yemeni state.
Al-Ahmadi explained to Al-Ittihad that the classification of the militia as a terrorist organization is the real test of the international community’s seriousness in exerting pressure that pushes the group to accept the requirements of peace, to stop the ongoing crimes against Yemenis and to threaten the security and stability of the region and the world. Al-Ahmadi called for the classification to be within the framework of a number of pressures and serious and supportive moves for the legitimate government.