Biden may rescind terrorist label on Houthis

The new US President Joe Biden may soon rule on the designation of Yemen's Houthi group as a "foreign terrorist organization", a decree his predecessor Donald Trump made.

Experts and analysts say this move would complicate the United Nations-brokered peace plan and international aid efforts in the impoverished Arab country. The former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the "terrorist designation of Houthis" in Yemen acknowledges its "terrorist activity" and seeks to deter further "malign activity".

Pompeo declared the Houthis a "foreign terrorist organization" on Jan 10. He said he also intended to designate three leaders of the Iran-backed group as "specially designated global terrorists".