by Mohamed al-Azaki
SANAA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people staged a mass rally in front of the United Nations headquarters in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday to protest against air, sea and land blockade imposed by the Saudi-led military coalition.
"Lift the blockade, you are killing millions of Yemeni people," read one of the slogans raised by the protesters.
Protester Ahmed Abdulkarim, 20, said he came here to show strong disapproval to the closure of all airports, seaports and border land crossings. "The coalition is killing us," he said.
The coalition of 10 Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States intervened in Yemen's conflict in March 2015 to recapture territories including the capital Sanaa, which was control in late 2014 by Iran-aligned Yemeni Shiite Houthi rebels and reinstate internationally recognized Yemeni government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
On Nov. 6, Saudi Arabia closed all ports of its southern neighboring poor country in response to the Houthi missile attack on the Saudi capital Riyadh's airport two days earlier.
The Nov. 4 missile attack was intercepted over Riyadh King Khalid Airport without casualties.
Saudi's official media blamed its regional foe Iran for supporting the Yemeni rebels with long-range ballistic missiles. Iran has denied the accusation, saying the missile was a reaction to "Saudi's aggression."
The United Nations and the European Union have warned that the all-out blockade could push millions of Yemenis into mass famine.
The rebel-held capital Sanaa has since witnessed a complete fuel shortage and the streets were almost empty of usual movement.
The Saudi-led coalition eased the blockade last week by reopening Yemen's southern Aden seaport and Alwadiah land border crossing between southern Saudi Arabia and northeast Yemen, but the coalition has kept the Houthi-controlled northern ports shut.
The UN aid agencies said the coalition's move to ease the siege was not enough and warned of mass famine and health catastrophes in Yemen's north.
The coalition said aid supplies would continue to access the northern ports, but the UN agencies said they were not able to reach the northern ports.
On Sunday, the Houthi movement warned on its Al Masirah satellite TV that it could target the warships and oil tankers from the Saudi-led coalition countries in the international waters of the Red Sea in retaliation for the closure of the Yemeni ports.
