Massive protest in Sanaa after US, UK strikes on Yemen rebels

Hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov rifles, massed for a major demonstration in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Friday after US and UK attacks.

Crowds under a sea of Yemen and Palestinian flags chanted "Death to America, death to Israel" as they massed in the giant Sanaa square in the historic city's centre.

The Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who seized Sanaa in 2014 and have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition, came under heavy bombardment overnight with a series of military targets hit.

Large-scale demonstrations have been a regular occurrence since the Israel-Hamas war flared in October, but Friday's protest was particularly passionate.

"If America and its allies decide to declare open war on us, we're ready for it and we won't have any choice but to bring victory or fall as martyrs," Abdel Azim Ali, one of the protesters, told AFP.

"We're waiting for the day when we're fighting a war with America," said Mohammed Hussein, another demonstrator.

"We're not scared of the American or British air force. We've been bombed for nine years and another attack is nothing new for us," said Abdallah Hassan, who was also in the crowd.

The US and UK strikes, which killed five people and wounded six according to the Huthis, followed weeks of Huthi attacks on shipping in the commercially sensitive Red Sea.

The Huthis say they are only targeting Israeli-linked vessels in retaliation for the Israel-Hamas war. They have threatened to attack US and British interests in response to the aerial strikes.

One million people joined the Sanaa demonstration, organisers said in a statement. AFP correspondents said other protests took place in the cities of Hodeida and Ibb, which are also rebel-controlled.

Yemen's war between the Huthis and the Saudi-led coalition since 2015 has left hundreds of thousands dead and created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations.

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