Thousands demonstrated Wednesday in Yemeni capital Sanaa to mark the anniversary of the uprising that toppled autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh and to reject a recent government takeover by Shiite Houthi group.
Protesters converged on Al-Zebeiri Street, one of Yemen's largest streets, and are expected to march through several other roads, an Anadolu Agency correspondent said.
Houthi militants, who had blocked off several areas ahead of the protests, prevented photo-taking from the protests. One person was assaulted by Houthi gunmen for trying to film the demonstration, the AA reporter said.
The protests are set to mark four years since the eruption of the Yemeni uprising which started in February 2011 and eventually toppled Saleh in early 2012 after 33 years in power.
Eyewitnesses said that Houthi militants have blocked off central Sanaa's Taghyeer Square, the epicenter for the protests which led to Saleh's removal.
The militants also closed Sanaa's largest main road as well as a number of streets surrounding Taghyeer.
Several youth-led movements, including one led by renowned activist Tawakkol Karman, had called for mass demonstrations in Sanaa on Wednesday to commemorate the uprising.
The same movements had rejected a de facto takeover by the Houthi group of the Yemeni government last week, after the Shiite group dissolved the parliament and announced plans for forming a "transitional council" following the resignation of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The Houthi group, for its part, called on its supporters to stage rival rallies in the capital on the same day.
Last week, the Shiite Houthi group issued a "constitutional declaration" dissolving parliament and establishing a 551-member "transitional council" to lead the country.
The declaration, however, was rejected by most of Yemen's political forces – along with some neighboring countries – which described it as a "coup" against "constitutional legitimacy."
Late last September, the Houthis seized control of Sanaa and has since sought to expand their influence to other provinces farther afield.
