Yemen rebels stage show of force after firing missiles at Saudis to mark third anniversary of war
The US Senate last week rejected a bipartisan bid to end American involvement in Yemen’s war, voting down a rare effort to overrule presidential military authorisation
Hundreds of thousands of Houthi rebel supporters flooded the streets of Yemen’s capital on Monday to mark three years of war, hours after Riyadh said it had intercepted seven missiles fired from rebel territory.
A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen on March 26, 2015 to try to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Iran-backed Shiite Houthis and their allies took over large parts of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
After the missile attacks that resulted in the first reported death in the Saudi capital, Sanaa’s Sabaeen Square on Monday was a sea of Yemeni flags as rebel authorities ordered all schools and government offices shut for the anniversary.
Houthi supporters carried portraits of rebel chief Abdulmalik al-Houthi and speakers blasted out a fiery speech by Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon’s powerful Shiite movement allied with the insurgents, praising the “steadfastness” of the Yemeni people.
War songs, poems and speeches condemning the United States, the main arms supplier for the Saudi-led coalition, echoed across the square.
No one can speak on behalf of the Yemeni people. People taking to the streets today is the real voice
On a stage, male dancers in traditional clothing with rifles slung over their shoulders performed for the crowd.
