Who are the Houthis in Yemen?
Thousands of Houthi supporters have called for the fall of Yemen's government. But what do the Houthis really want?
Saeed Al Batati Last updated: 21 Aug 2014 12:03
Sanaa, Yemen - Thousands of supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement protested in the streets of the Yemeni capital in response to a call by the group's leader to force the government to step down.
In a televised speech on August 17, Houthi leader Abdulmalek al-Houthi demanded that fuel subsidies, which had been cut significantly in late July, be reinstated, among other demands. He gave the government until Friday to meet the Houthis' demands, or said "other steps" would be taken.
"This government is a puppet in the hands of influential forces, which are indifferent to the rightful and sincere demands of these people," al-Houthi said in his speech, referring to the United States.
The Houthis are also demanding a more representative form of government that would reflect the seats allocated to political groups and independent activists during Yemen's 10-month National Dialogue Conference, a series of meetings to map out the political future of Yemen after its 2011 uprising.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/yemen-houthis-hadi-protests-201482132719818986.html