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| Arabia | |||
| Thousands in Sanaa attend biggest anti-Houthi protest | |||
| 2015-01-25 | |||
| [ARABNEWS] Thousands of Yemenis erupted into the streets on Saturday in the biggest demonstration yet against the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to Americaâ„¢, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews... group that dominates Yemen, two days after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's resignation left the country in political limbo. Witnesses said a crowd estimated at up to 10,000 people marched from Sanaa University toward Hadi's home some 3 km away and back, repeating chants denouncing both the Shiite Houthi group and Sunni Al-Qaeda. "Long live the Yemeni people. No to Houthis and no to Affash," the crowd shouted, using a nickname for former President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... who was toppled in a 2011 uprising against his 33-year-rule. Saleh had been cited by the UN Security Council for aiding the Houthis to capture Sanaa, capital of the predominantly Sunni country, in September. Hadi, who stepped down on Thursday, blamed the Houthis' control of Sanaa for scuttling his attempt to steer Yemen toward stability after years of turmoil, tribal unrest, deepening poverty and US drone strikes on Sunni holy warriors. The Houthis virtually held Hadi prisoner at his home residence this week. They accuse him of reneging on a power-sharing agreement they signed with the country's main political parties in his presence after they seized Sanaa. "We came out today to reject the coup and against the Houthi militia's control of the capital," said one student who identified herself as Maimouna, holding a placard opposing plans to incorporate the Houthi fighters into the army. Demonstrators stopped traffic in front of Hadi's home, booed Houthi fighters in the area and chanted "Leave, Houthis, leave." Houthi fighters prevented protesters from getting too close to Hadi's house but they and the police largely kept their distance and the protest ended peacefully, witnesses said. Similar protests erupted in other provinces, including Taiz, Hodeida, Al-Bayda and Ibb, residents said. On Friday, thousands of Houthi supporters gathered in Sanaa with placards calling for "Death to America, Death to Israel," a slogan that has become the group's trademark.
Such declarations came from provinces that comprised the former South Yemen -- where a secessionist movement has been demanding independence -- and the oil-rich Marib province east of Sanaa.
Houthi gunnies, however, later rounded up dozens of youths who took part in protests in Sanaa and Ibb, according to families and witnesses. | |||
| Posted by:Fred |