With 80 per cent of the country’s population needing international aid to survive and millions at risk of a widespread famine, Yemen is a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. A Trump administration designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation would turn the crisis into a calamity with no security upside for the US (“Terror label will push Yemen closer to famine, UN warns”, Report, December 29).

Going on six years, the civil-turned-proxy war in Yemen has caused such devastation to the country that Yemenis are considered fortunate if they can get through the day. Washington’s decision to support Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in its air campaign against the Houthis has dragged out the conflict, created further operating space for al-Qaeda, and deepened US involvement in a war it has no interest in prolonging. As inhumane as the Houthis are, labelling the group a terrorist organisation would do far more harm than good by deterring the flow of aid into the country. It would also likely provide the excuse for the most hawkish Houthis, Yemen’s government and Saudi officials to abandon diplomacy in favour of a military solution.

If the US wants to help, it can start by cutting off all military, financial and diplomatic support to the Saudi coalition and cease the sale of offensive arms to Riyadh that could be used in Yemen.

These long overdue moves would reinvigorate a floundering UN-led peace process and send a message to the Saudi government that Washington’s backing shouldn’t be taken for granted.

F.T Adviser