by Maarib al-Ward
SANAA
Leader of Yemen's Shiite Houthi group has called on supporters to escalate their anti-government protests on Tuesday by taking to the Tagyeer Square in Sanaa, vowing further escalation if the group's demands have not met.
In a televised speech carried by the group's Al-Massira channel, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi reiterate the group's demands; dismissal of Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa's government, reversal of an earlier government decision to slash fuel subsidies and implementation of the national dialogue's outcome.
He went on to threaten "strategic, major escalatory" steps by his group if their demands were not fulfilled by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
Such steps, he said, would be coordinated with other groups and would go beyond Sanaa to other cities in the country. He did not elaborate.
The Shiite group has recently mounted a series of massive protests in Sanaa to demand the dismissal of the government and the reinstatement of recently-slashed fuel subsidies.
Last week, the president offered to sack the government, inviting the Houthis to take part in a new national unity cabinet. He also offered to reduce fuel prices.
The Shiite group, however, spurned the overture and vowed to further escalate its protests.
Yemen has been dogged by unrest since a popular uprising that began in 2011 ousted longstanding president Ali Abdullah Saleh one year later.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
