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Hundreds of Thousands in Yemen March in Support of Rebels

by Associated Press

   SANA'A --

   Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis marched on Saturday in support of
   Shi'ite Houthi rebels and their ally, former president Ali Abdullah
   Saleh.
   The march in the rebel-held capital, Sana'a, was in support of a new
   combined governing council the rebels and Saleh announced late last
   month, but which was immediately rejected by the internationally
   recognized government and the United Nations. Saleh was forced to step
   down in 2012 amid Arab Spring protests after more than three decades in
   power.
   Yemen's war pits troops and militiamen loyal to the government, backed
   by a Saudi-led coalition, against the Shi'ite rebels and Saleh
   loyalists. The Houthis captured Sana'a in 2014, and the U.S.-backed
   coalition began its offensive against them in March 2015.
   Later in the day, coalition airstrikes hit the presidential palace in
   Sana'a and other areas in the city, leaving an unknown number of
   casualties, security officials said.
   Peace talks collapsed earlier this month, and the Saudi-led forces
   resumed heavy airstrikes shortly thereafter.
   In Oman, one of the locations used for peace talks, Houthi negotiators
   said that Saudi forces were preventing them from returning to Yemen by
   blocking international flights to Sanaa's airport.
   All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't
   authorized to brief journalists.