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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 12 January 2021

Aid agencies fear impact in Yemen after U.S. terror decision

By MAGGIE MICHAEL and the rebels have been impli-
SAMY MAGDY cated in stealing aid and
Associated Press using aid access to extort
CAIRO (AP) — Aid agencies concessions and money, as
were thrown into confusion well as in a catalog of hu-
Monday over the Trump man rights abuses includ-
administration’s out-the- ing rape and torture of dis-
door decision to designate sidents. In Iran, the Foreign
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Ministry spokesman Saeed
rebels as a terror organiza- Khatibzadeh said the des-
tion, which they warned ignation was “doomed to
could wreck the tenuous failure” and the U.S. would
relief system keeping mil- eventually have to en-
lions alive in a country al- ter negotiations with the
ready near famine in the Houthis.
world’s worst humanitarian The U.S. designation move
disaster. The designation is is part of the Trump admin-
to take effect on President istration’s broader effort
Donald Trump’s last full day to isolate and cripple Iran.
in office, a day before Pres- It also shows support to its
ident-elect Joe Biden’s in- close ally, Saudi Arabia,
auguration on Jan. 20. Sev- which leads the anti-Houthi
eral aid groups pleaded on In this Oct. 1, 2018, file photo, a woman holds a malnourished boy at the Aslam Health Center, in coalition in the war. Saudi
Monday for Biden to imme- Hajjah, Yemen. Associated Press Arabia has advocated the
diately reverse the desig- terror designation, hoping
nation. The Biden transition Houthi rebels have been of the designation, which ther wreck an economy in it would pressure the reb-
team has not yet expressed catastrophic for Yemen. would bring sanctions which millions can’t afford els to reach a peace deal.
his intentions. Most of its 30 million people against the Houthis. Some to feed themselves. Past rounds of peace talks
“Acting on day one can- rely on international aid to were considering pull- The Houthis rule the capi- and cease-fire agreements
not only be a figure of survive. The U.N. says 13.5 ing out foreign staff. They tal and Yemen’s north have faltered.
speech,” Oxfam America’s million Yemenis already warned that even if the where the majority of the The Saudi Foreign Ministry
Humanitarian Policy Lead face acute food insecurity, U.S. grants humanitarian population lives, forcing welcomed the U.S. deci-
Scott Paul said. “Lives hang a figure that could rise to 16 exceptions as Secretary of international aid groups to sion, saying that it hopes
in the balance.” million by June. State Mike Pompeo prom- work with them. Agencies the designation would
Six years of war between a Aid agencies said Monday ised Sunday, the move depend on the Houthis to force the rebels to “seri-
U.S.-backed Arab coalition they were struggling to fig- could snarl aid delivery, deliver aid and pay sala- ously” return to negotiating
and the Iranian-backed ure out the implications drive away banks and fur- ries to Houthis to do so. Still, table. q

Uganda accuses Facebook of

‘interfering’ in tense polls

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A
Ugandan official accused
Facebook of meddling in
the East African country’s
election after several ac-
counts linked to President
Yoweri Museveni’s cam-
paign were removed for al-
leged inauthentic behav-
ior. Presidential spokesman
Don Wanyama told The In this Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016 file photo, Uganda’s long-time
Associated Press on Mon- President Yoweri Museveni attends an election rally at Kololo
day that Facebook’s ac- Airstrip in Kampala, Uganda. Associated Press
tion was evidence of what
Ugandan authorities see to AP, Facebook said it re- quickly to investigate and
as outside support of Bobi moved a network of ac- take down this network.”
Wine, the leading opposi- counts and pages that That network is linked to
tion candidate in presiden- “used fake and duplicate Uganda’s Ministry of Infor-
tial elections scheduled for accounts to manage mation and Communica-
Thursday. “Facebook is pages, comment on other tions Technology, the state-
interfering in the electoral people’s content, imper- ment said.
process of Uganda,” he sonate users, re-share posts Wanyama charged that
said. “If people wanted to in groups to make them Facebook had blocked
have the evidence of out- appear more popular than the accounts of Museveni’s
side interference, now they they were. mobilizers, especially those
have it.” Given the impending elec- who communicate in the
In a statement e-mailed tion in Uganda, we moved local Luganda language.q