Sanaa, Sep 22 (IANS) Hundreds of followers of the Yemeni Houthi group took part in a parade commemorating the tenth anniversary of the group’s seizure of the capital Sanaa.
The event, organised by the Houthis on Saturday, comes as Yemen’s conflict enters its second decade since the Houthis stormed Sanaa on September 21, 2014, forcing the internationally recognised government into exile, Xinhua news agency reported.
Participants of the parade, wearing uniforms, carrying weapons and placards, and waving flags of Yemen and Palestine, gathered at Al Sabeen Square in central Sanaa.
The Houthis now control most of the northern areas, including Sanaa and the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeidah. The internationally recognised Yemeni government, led by the Presidential Leadership Council since April 2022, mainly controls the southern and eastern regions, with Aden serving as the temporary capital.
The decade-long civil war has taken a catastrophic toll on the Arab country. UN agencies estimate that by the end of 2021, the conflict had directly and indirectly caused 377,000 deaths. The UN has declared the Yemen situation “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.”
Currently, about 21.6 million people — two-thirds of Yemen’s population — rely on humanitarian aid.
Over the past decade, multiple international efforts to promote peace in Yemen have yielded limited success. A notable ceasefire agreement in April 2022 lasted six months before expiring, though both sides have largely maintained a “de facto ceasefire” since then.
–IANS
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