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Supporters of Yemen's Shia Houthi group on Friday escalated their protests against the government of Prime Minister Mohamed Basindawa, setting up protest camps outside several ministries and government offices in capital Sanaa.
"Houthi supporters have begun erecting tents for a sit-in on Al-Matar Street near the ministries of interior and electricity," senior group member Mohamed al-Bakhiti told Anadolu Agency.
The move came in response to calls by group leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi to begin a "revolutionary escalation" until Basindawa's government is sacked and a recent decision to lift fuel subsidies is reversed, said al-Bakhiti.
Over the past two days, Sanaa has been at the center of intense protests and sit-ins – called for by al-Houthi – to demand the dismissal of the current government.
In a televised address on Sunday, al-Houthi gave Yemen's cabinet until Friday to resign, threatening to escalate "by other means" if the demand wasn't met.
The calls to protest have been criticized by President ABD Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has asked the army to raise its combat-alert level.
Many Yemenis believe the Shia Houthi group, which takes the northern Saada province as its main base of operations, wants to reinstate Yemen's pre-1962 monarchy in the country's north.
First appearing in 1992, the group has engaged in several rounds of fighting with the army that has left thousands dead on both sides.
Yemen has been dogged by turmoil since pro-democracy protests forced autocratic president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in 2012 after 33 years in power.
In late July, the government raised petrol prices by 75 percent and diesel fuel by 90 percent in an effort to ease the burden on the state budget.
For more than a year, Yemen has tried to secure a loan of at least $560 million from the International Monetary Fund, which has in turn demanded a raft of reforms, including subsidy cuts.
By Maarib al-Ward
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en - Sana
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