Yemen rebels stage show of force in capital hours after missile attacks
Hundreds of thousands of Huthi rebel supporters flooded the streets of Yemen’s capital Monday to mark three years of war, hours after Riyadh intercepted seven missiles fired from rebel territory.
A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen on March 26, 2015 to restore the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Iranbacked Huthis and their allies took over large parts of the country including the capital Sanaa.
Sanaa’s Sabaeen Square on Monday was a sea of Yemeni flags, with a smattering of posters bearing pictures of Huthi leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi and the slogan “three years of aggression.”
Rebel authorities ordered all schools and government offices shut for the anniversary. Speakers blasted out a fiery speech of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah – the powerful Shiite group allied with the insurgents – in which he praised the “steadfastness” of the Yemeni people.
On stage, male dancers dressed in traditional clothing with rifles hoisted on their shoulders performed for the crowd, broadcast on a massive screen.
“No one can speak on behalf of the Yemeni people. People taking to the streets today is the real voice,” Ibtisam al-Mutawakel, head of the rebel cultural committee, told AFP.
“As for the missiles, those are the message of our army and popular committees to the enemy,” Mutawakel added, referring to the Huthi-aligned military brigades and paramilitaries.
About 10,000 Yemenis have been killed and 53,000 wounded since the start of the coalition intervention in Yemen, which triggered what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The rebels remain in control of the capital, north Yemen and the country’s largest port.
Hadi’s forces have controlled southern Yemen since 2015, but cracks have surfaced this year between the president and his southern separatist allies.
The rebels have periodically fired missiles into Saudi territory and Saudi forces announced Sunday night they had intercepted seven more, including over Riyadh.