Yemen has seen one of its biggest mass rallies since the 2011 overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Yemen has seen one of its biggest mass rallies since the 2011 overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
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Tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Sanaa, in a show of support for the new Higher Council, formed last month, between members of Saleh’s party the General People’s Congress, and the rebel Houthis who control the capital, several major towns and cities, and the north of the country.
Sanaa last week saw the return of deadly airstrikes after a four-month respite and there has been an intensification of fighting with the Saudi-led Arab coalition that supports the ousted President Abd-Rabbou Mansour Hadi, but which is struggling to make advances on the ground.
However its air campaign is proving very destructive. The UN now estimates that the war in Yemen has, in 16 months, cost at least 14 billion dollars in damage and lost earnings, and this in one of the world’s poorest countries.