RIYADH — Saudi Arabia called on the UN Security Council on Thursday to designate the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen as a terrorist network.

The Kingdom’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasil, said the time has come for the designation of the Houthis as a terrorist group, leading to the boycott of the militias and drying up their sources of funding.

Saudi Arabia continues to support international efforts to restore peace in Yemen, he said, adding that it has the right to defend itself should the Houthis again attack it.”

“It will not spare any effort to deter such hostile acts against it,” Al-Wasil said during a briefing at the UN Security Council.

He remarked that the Houthis’ rejection of the proposal to extend the nationwide truce on October 2 “came as no surprise to those who were aware of the group that had put their extreme ideological interests at the forefront, taken the Yemeni people hostage, and exposed generations to the risks of armed conflict and war.”

Recalling that the Council last week, for the first time, attributed to the militias the clear responsibility for hindering an agreement to extend the truce, he called on them to cease operations and return to dialogue.

“Their rejection of the truce is one chapter to the many somber chapters that have taken place since 2014, when they attempted a coup against the legitimate government,” Al-Wasil said, questioning why they rejected a ceasefire proposal and a resumption of flights.

He outlined other disruptive activities by the Houthis, including hampering the operations of Safer oil tanker, which risks an unprecedented disaster in the Red Sea, the laying of mines, illegal weapons trafficking, and the takeover of humanitarian deliveries, as well as the targeting of the infrastructure of neighboring countries through drones.

“They are not peaceful and they do not care about the suffering of the Yemeni people,” Al-Wasil stressed.

He welcomed United Nations Special Envoy Hans Grundberg’s efforts toward reaching a comprehensive political solution but said the Houthis have already violated the truce and refused to put the oil revenue into a special account for civil servants’ salaries.

Furthermore, they had organized military parades in the Hodeidah province in flagrant violation of the Stockholm Agreement, besieged Taiz, and insisted on defying calls for peace and stability.

The international community and the Council should designate the Houthis as a terrorist group to dry up their funding sources. Saudi Arabia reiterates its right to defend itself from attacks on the Kingdom, the envoy said in closing. — SG