SANAA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Teachers in the Shiite Houthi rebel-held northern Yemen went on strike Sunday, the first day of new school term in the war-torn Arab country.
"All teachers in all schools are on an open strike until Houthi-controlled authorities pay our salaries," an official at the Teachers' Union in the capital Sanaa told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Like other thousands of Yemeni government's employees, the teachers have not been paid for more than a year.
Teachers went to schools on Sunday, but did not teach the classes.
"We (the teachers) and students went to schools today, and we did not teach the students as we first awaited to be paid," said Amal Mutahar, a female teacher at al-Rammah School in Sanaa.
Teachers in other northern provinces went into an open strike too, according to provincial officials.
About 4 million students across all northern provinces, including Sanaa, are more likely to not be taught this year as the authorities here have been suffering deadly financial crisis.
Houthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa and northern provinces in September 2014, seizing control over all state ministries after forcing the legitimate government into exile.
In March 2015, a Saudi-led military coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict to roll back the Iranian-backed rebel gains and reinstate the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into power in the capital.
More than two-and-a-half years of war have killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, and displaced 3 million, according to UN agencies.
The war has also led the country to a total economic collapse and the deadly cholera disease hit nearly one million people, mostly children.
