Yemen rebels withdraw congratulations to Saudi Arabia over World Cup win

​​ANKARA

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have withdrawn their congratulations to Saudi Arabia over their historic World Cup win against Argentina.

Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1 in their World Cup opener on Tuesday.

"A thousand congratulations for the victory of the Saudi national team over its Argentina team. This victory put Arab football back on the map," Daifallah al-Shami, a member of the Houthi political bureau, tweeted. He, however, removed his tweet moments later.

Another congratulatory message by Abdul-Qader al-Mortada, head of Houthi committee for prisoners' affairs, was also removed. No explanation was provided by Houthi rebels for the removal of the congratulatory messages.

Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia have been at war since Riyadh and its Sunni allies launched a military campaign against Houthis in 2015 to reinstall the internationally recognized government in Yemen, which was unseated by the Iran-aligned rebels a year earlier.

The eight-year conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions risking starvation.