ADEN, Yemen, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people took to the streets in the southwestern Yemeni province of Taiz on Wednesday to protest against the Houthi group's siege of the strategic city since the civil war erupted in 2014.
A local official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "large demonstrations were organized across the neighborhoods of Taiz demanding the opening of closed crossings and roads leading to their city."
He said the demonstrators marched across streets in Taiz with banners calling the United Nations to lift the Houthis' siege and blockade of the city controlled by the Yemeni government and holding strategic significance.
They urged the UN to accelerate efforts and pressure the Houthis to open the blocked roads and facilitate their normal movement to and from the neighborhoods in Taiz.
Taiz Province Governor Nabil Shamsan attended one of the demonstrations and delivered a speech saying "it is not acceptable to address humanitarian issues in Yemen without lifting the siege imposed on the city of Taiz."
The demonstrations coincided with the beginning of the Yemeni government's negotiating talks with Houthi militants in Jordan's capital Amman on ending the siege.
Lifting the siege is the last major term to be fulfilled pursuant to the agreement reached by warring sides before the two-month ceasefire starting on April 2.
The truce marks the first breakthrough in more than seven years in efforts to end the war in Yemen that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.
Last week, the Houthis said they are considering a UN request to extend the ongoing truce with the Yemeni government, which expires on June 2. ■
