Houthis hail Biden decision on Yemen as step towards ending war

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Thursday welcomed President Joe Biden's plans to end US support for offensive operations in Yemen, saying it was a step towards ending the long conflict.

"We hope this will be the beginning of a decision to stop the war on Yemen," senior Houthi political official Hamid Assem told AFP. "We are optimistic about that."

"The Biden administration saw that the war in Yemen carries a heavy cost and that America's reputation has been tarnished by the killing of the people of Yemen," he added.

The White House said Thursday that Biden would end his support for the war by Washington's Saudi allies in Yemen, in his first major foreign policy speech.

The move reverses former president Donald Trump's policy of providing logistical assistance and selling huge amounts of advanced weaponry, such as precision-guided bombs, to the Saudi-led coalition.

Assem said Biden had made the decision after realising the "war goals were not achieved" in a country that has been plunged into what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

"We know that America is the one who fights us and its weapons are the ones that killed us and destroyed everything in Yemen," he said, adding that the Saudi-led coalition, which supports the internationally recognised government against the Houthis, was "commanded by American orders". 

Agencies contributed to this report.