Houthi Protesters Block Main Sanaa Roads; Tension Mounts

Supports of the Shiite Houthi group blocked several main roads across the Yemeni capital Sanaa Monday in response to a call by their leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi to escalate action against the government of Prime Minister Mohamed Basindawa.



The Houthis blocked the streets of Al-Adl, Al-Zaraa and Tahrir Square for an hour after protest organizers had announced bringing traffic to a complete halt in the capital for one hour, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.



Military aircraft were seen flying over the capital amid heavy deployment of anti-riot forces.



The road-blocking came after al-Houthi had asked his supporters to march on Taghyeer Square in central Sanaa to launch what he described as the third and final stage of his "revolutionary escalation," reaching up to civil disobedience.



The Houthis are demanding the sacking of Basindawa's government and the abolishment of an earlier government decision to slash fuel subsidies.



Yemen has been thrown into turmoil with tens of thousands of Houthis besieging Sanaa since mid-August.



A presidential mediation committee had earlier failed to persuade the Houthis to break the siege of the capital and scale back their escalation.  



Previous confrontations between the Houthis and the Yemeni army in the country's north had left hundreds of dead and injured on both sides.



Yemen has been gripped by instability ever since the 33-year rule of autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh ended in 2012 following mass protests as part of the Arab Spring uprisings that swept through the Middle East.



By Mohamed al-Samei



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Sana