Yemen Houthis bury founder's remains

Tens of thousands of Yemeni Shiite Muslims belonging to the rebel Houthi group have taken part in the funeral procession of founder Hussein al-Houthi, nine years after he was killed fighting against government forces. The funeral, in the northern governorate of Saada, was also televised on local television channel Ansar Allah. Six men, dressed in black military uniforms, carried al-Houthi's coffin in windy conditions, as his followers chanted anti-Western slogans. Earlier this year, the Yemeni government handed over al-Houthi's remains to his family, as a goodwill gesture to bolster national reconciliation talks ahead of planned elections. Before his funeral, the tribal leader's body was sent to Germany and Iran for test to verify whether it was him. On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Houthis accused the government of refusing to give visas to dignitaries from Hezbollah, Iran, and Bahrain who wanted to attend the ceremony. The official also threatened the group's withdrawal from the national dialogue conference. According to news agency Reuters, a representative of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi also attended the funeral.