Protests in Taiz against Yemen peace plan

Thousands of people took to the streets in Taiz in a rally to denounce the UN peace proposal which was drafted by UN Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

Many, including the Yemeni government have condemned the peace plan because it involves forming a unity government with Houthi militias and ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Critics have also highlighted that the proposed deal undermines UN Security Council Resolution 2216 as it undermines the legitimacy of current Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The protesters also stressed their support for the Hadi government and reiterated that the peace plan “serves the interest of the coup government”.

The city of Taiz, the country’s third largest city with a population of over half a million, has been suffering ever since Houthi and Saleh militia forces captured it in March 2015.

Since then, the city has been besieged and civilians have been subject to shelling, disappearances and arbitrary detention.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Shia Houthi militias allied with pro-Saleh forces and troops loyal to the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. The government forces are supported by local tribes and resistance fighters and backed by the Saudi-led coalition, which conducts airstrikes against the rebels.