Sunday Times 2
Thousands rally against Shiite militia in Yemen capital
View(s):SANAA, Jan 24, (AFP) – Thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of Sanaa today in the biggest protest yet against a Shiite militia takeover of the capital that has plunged the country into turmoil.
The demonstration came as regions in the formerly independent south stepped up their defiance after the Shiite militiamen, who hail from Yemen’s northern highlands and are known as Huthis, tightened their grip on Sanaa.
“Down, down with the Huthis’ rule,” chanted protesters who rallied following a call by the Rejection Movement — a group recently formed in provincial areas to challenge the militia.
Women and children joined angry young men on the streets, waving signs that called for “a real government” and burning portraits of the militia leader Abdulmalek al-Huthi.
Demonstrators gathered at Change Square before heading to the Republican Palace, the residence of Prime Minister Khalid Bahah who fled it on Wednesday after a being surrounded by the militia for two days.
But the protesters changed their route and marched toward the home of embattled President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to express their “rejection of his resignation,” according to organisers.
Hadi, a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, tendered his resignation along with Bahah on Thursday, saying he could no longer stay in office as the country was in “total deadlock”.
Those who took to Sanaa’s streets on Saturday also demanded that Hadi “impose the authority of the state” in face of the powerful Huthis, said the protest organisers.
Huthi gunmen backed by armoured vehicles were deployed along Sittin Street, where the president lives, but they only watched on as the protesters marched.
The protest ended with the return of demonstrators to Change Square, an AFP correspondent said.