Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of
Yemen's capital on Sunday to call for an end to
war in the country.
The demonstration was organised by Houthi rebels,
who occupy the city and much of Yemen's north.
The rallies in Sanaa came on the second
anniversary of the Saudi-led military intervention
against the Houthi rebel movement.
More than 7,600 people have been killed in the
conflict since it began in March 2015.
Millions of citizens have been displaced and the
country has also been pushed to the brink of
famine.
The war is being waged between forces loyal to
President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those
allied to the Houthis.
The Houthis support the country's former
authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who
ceded power to Mr Hadi in 2012 after a 2011
uprising.
Mr Saleh made a rare appearance at Sunday's rally
and addressed the crowds.
The throngs converged in Sabeen Square, where
they waved the country's flag and chanted that
they would "resist to the end".
"I participated in the protests against the
aggression [by the Saudi-led coalition]. Maybe our
voice will be heard by the world over to stop the
war,'' one protester, Ahmed Mohsen, told The
Associated Press news agency.
The conflict has its roots in the failed political
transition after Mr Saleh handed power to Mr Hadi.
Houthis opposed to Mr Hadi took over the capital,
Sanaa, forcing him to flee to the southern port city
of Aden.
Alarmed by the rise of a group they believed to be
backed militarily by regional Shia power Iran, Saudi
Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states
began an air campaign aimed at restoring Mr
Hadi's government.
However, after two years of fighting, no side
appears close to a decisive military victory.
Various rounds of UN-mediated peace talks to end
Yemen's conflict have failed.
Monday, March 27, 2017
World News