Houthi Group Orders US and UK Citizens to Leave Yemen Immediately

United States fighter jets took off from the aircraft carrier to target the Houthi group. (Twitter/@CENTCOM)

JAKARTA - Houthi authorities in Yemen ordered United States (US) and British staff working for the UN and humanitarian organizations in the capital Sanaa, to leave the country within a month, according to a document and a Houthi official said on Wednesday.

The decision follows attacks by the United States and Britain, with support from other countries, on military targets of the Iran-allied group, following attacks they carried out on commercial vessels in the Red Sea that were said to be linked to Israel.

"The ministry wishes to emphasize that you should inform officials and workers with US and UK citizenship, to prepare to leave the country within 30 days," said a letter sent by the Houthi Foreign Ministry to the acting UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, reported by Reuters January 25.

The letter also ordered foreign organizations not to employ American and British citizens for Yemeni operations.

Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Reuters. Temporary. The office of Hawkins, who is a British citizen, did not respond to a request for comment.

Separately, the American Embassy said in a statement it was aware of reports about the letter but "cannot speak on behalf of the UN or humanitarian organizations in Yemen regarding what they may have received from the Houthi 'authorities'".

Meanwhile the British Embassy said its staff had not been told to leave and the mission was in close contact with the UN on the issue.

"The UN is providing vital assistance to the Yemeni people via sea routes that endanger the Houthis," the British mission in Yemen said in a statement.

"No action should impede their ability to carry it out," he added.

The Houthi movement controls most of Yemen after nearly a decade of fighting against a coalition backed by the US and Saudi Arabia. The war has turned into a "no war, no peace" stalemate: as most fighting has stopped, but both sides have failed to officially renew a UN-brokered ceasefire.

It is known that the US government last week also included the Houthi group on its list of terrorist groups as Washington tried to stem attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthi group said their attack was a form of solidarity with Palestine, when Israel bombarded Gaza.

American and British warplanes, ships and submarines have launched dozens of airstrikes across Yemen, in retaliation for Houthi attacks as container ships were forced to divert from the Red Sea, the fastest shipping route from Asia to Europe.

US and British forces on Tuesday targeted Houthi underground storage sites as well as their missile and surveillance capabilities, the Pentagon said.