The head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, and Prime Minister Maeen Abdul-Malik, today, Saturday, called on the international community to classify the Houthi group in Yemen as a terrorist organization.

This came in separate statements they made in Riyadh, where they are currently located.

Alimi said, "Defensive operations are not the solution. The solution is to eliminate the Houthis' military capabilities," adding that "the solution is a partnership with the legitimate government to control these areas and restore state institutions."

In response to a question about whether Yemen seeks American and Saudi military support to carry out ground military operations to eliminate the Houthis, Al-Alimi said, “We demand that every day, every month, and every year.”

He continued, "We want support for the legitimate government, not for the sake of war... but to force the Houthis to come to dialogue."

For his part, Abdul Malik called on the international community to “classify the Houthis as a terrorist group,” accusing the group of blocking the way to efforts to bring peace to Yemen.

Abdul Malik said, “The American decision to reclassify the Houthis as a terrorist group should be the subject of international consensus after exhausting all possible options with them, and their insistence on blocking all peace efforts and exacerbating the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

He added, "The government is keen that relief and humanitarian work will not be affected by this classification, and it will work with various mechanisms to ensure this, and is committed to every path that ends the suffering of the Yemenis."

The Yemeni Prime Minister affirmed, "The government's full support for the humanitarian work community against the Houthi measures against relief agency employees of American and British nationalities and the provision of all facilities for humanitarian work from the capital, Aden (southern Yemen) and the liberated governorates."

This position comes from the heads of the Presidential Command Council and the Yemeni government, in light of the Houthis continuing to escalate their military campaigns and attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which threatens international navigation and the stability of the region.