A Yemeni displays a poster bearing the portrait of the Shiite Houthi movement’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Huthi during a gathering in the capital Sanaa on Oct. 31, 2014.

Demonstrators and activists in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa protested on Saturday against the Houthi rebel takeover of the city, demanding President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi put an end to the insurgency.

Protestors chanted slogans against the Houthi rebels and Iran, for allegedly arming the insurgent group, and demanded the president form a military council to safeguard the country from terrorist attacks, Al Arabiya News Channel’s reported.

Protestors also called for early parliamentary and presidential elections.

The demonstrations come a day after Houthi leaders rallied some 30,000 tribal leaders in Sanaa and delivered a communique giving President Hadi 10 days to form a new government, warning him that “all options are open” in case he failed.

The government formation is part of a U.N. deal to reach a peaceful settlement to Yemen’s political crisis.

Over the past three days, security officials said that at least 250 people were killed in clashes between the Houthis and an influential tribe in the town of Radda, an al-Qaeda stronghold south of Sanaa.

The Houthi offensive has pushed Yemen into even deeper turmoil. Apart from the rampant al-Qaeda insurgency and the rebel blitz, the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country has also endured crushing poverty that has bred resentment – and outright rebellion – that took root in a secessionist movement in its once-independent southern region.

 
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