• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Thousands Take to Streets of Yemeni Capital to Protest Shiite Houthis

Sputnik News

13:58 24.01.2015

Thousands of Yemenis have taken to the streets of Yemen's capital city Sanaa in the largest demonstration to date against the Shiite Houthi militia group, which are currently in control of the city.

MOSCOW, January 24 (Sputnik) – Thousands of Yemenis rallied against the Shiite Houthi militia group, which currently controls the country's capital Sanaa on Saturday, according to AFP.

“Down, down with the Houthis' rule," the agency says the protesters have been chanting, following a call by the Rejection Movement – a group that formed recently in the country's provincial areas which intends to challenge the powerful militia.

The protesters gathered in Change Square near the University of Sanaa and marched through the city to the residence of embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to express their "rejection of his resignation," the organizing committee of the rally said.

The demonstrators also urged the resigned President Hadi to "impose the authority of the state" in the face of the tightening grip of the Houthis who are currently in power.

Dozens of Houthi supporters tried to stop the demonstration, triggering a brief scuffle, before they left, as the numbers of protesters kept increasing, according to an AFP correspondent

The rallies also took off in the cities of Taez, Ibb and Hudaida.

On Thursday, the Yemeni government submitted a letter of resignation to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi amid a standoff with the Houthi militia.

Tensions in the country flared last Saturday after Hadi's chief of staff was kidnapped along with two of his guards by the rebels. Ongoing clashes between government forces and fighters have been reported across the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, since early Monday.

The Shiite Houthi are a major opposition force in Yemen that was involved in removing former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh from office in 2012. In September 2014, the insurgency spread to the central and western parts of the country.

Reports emerged on Wednesday that an agreement has been reached between Hadi and the Houthi opposition movement. As per the deal, the Yemeni president pledged to accept four of the Shiite rebels' demands, while the rebels promised to withdraw from the presidential palace, which they seized on Tuesday.

© Sputnik