Yemeni president warns Houthi Shia protesters

Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has warned Houthi anti-government protesters, saying that the United States and its allies oppose the group’s show of force.

“The tribal armed masses… imposed a status quo that is rejected by people, politically, nationally, regionally, and internationally,” Yemeni media quoted Hadi as saying on Wednesday.

Hadi said he talked to officials from the US, the United Nations Security Council, and a number of Arab countries, who voiced opposition towards “any rebellion against national consensus.”

The president’s remarks followed Tuesday’s calls by Houthi leader Abd al-Malik al-Houthi for more anti government protests.

Hundreds of thousands took to streets on Wednesday calling for the downfall of the government.

    “We call on the government to meet these demands or else we will upscale our activities, because these people here have no other choice but to continue the revolution,” a Houthi protester told the Press TV correspondent.

Houthis have been holding demonstrations since August 20 when they strengthened their positions in the Yemeni capital Sana’a in an effort to press the government to resign.

Yemen’s Shia Houthi movement draws its name from the tribe of its founding leader Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi.

The Houthi movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years, stepped down in February 2012 under a US-backed power transfer deal in return for immunity, after a year of mass street demonstrations demanding his ouster.

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