Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered in several cities on Friday to hear their leaders condemn U.S. and British strikes on their country.
Supporters of the Houthi movement rally to denounce air strikes launched by the U.S. and Britain on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen January 12, 2024. Reuters/Khaled Abdullah
Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered in several cities on Friday to hear their leaders condemn U.S. and British strikes on their country in response to attacks by Houthi militants on Red Sea shipping to protest against Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
The U.S. and Britain carried out dozens of air strikes on Houthi military targets overnight, widening a regional conflict stemming from Israel's war in Gaza.
"Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, referring to the United States. "The United States is the Devil."
The Iran-aligned Houthis waded into the Israel-Hamas conflict - which has spread around the Middle East since it began on Oct. 7 - by attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles towards Israel itself.
By Clauda Tanios
A large plume of smoke was visible near Riyadh's main airport on Saturday after booms were heard and Saudi Arabia sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around the capital, amid an escalation in attacks by Yemen's Houthi group.
At least 112,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen within the last two weeks as fighting continues along the country's west coast amid a renewed conflict, while nearly 3,000 have fled by sea to Djibouti, the United Nations migration agency said on Friday.
China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen's Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group's military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with the matter.
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