Violence broke out at a Houthi news conference Thursday in Geneva after opponents stormed in, throwing shoes and calling the officials "dogs" and "criminals" who were "killing the children of south Yemen."
The press conference was being held on the sidelines of peace talks, which are expected to finish Friday or Saturday. The brawl started when a women went to the podium and threw a shoe at the head of the Houthi delegation, Hamza Al-Houthi, which is considered an insult in the Arab world, Reuters reports. A fist fight then broke out between the Houthis and protesters, who were eventually escorted out of the room.
Delegates to the peace talks say they are not close to reaching a UN-requested ceasefire. In Yemen on Thursday, at least 30 people were killed during clashes between tribesmen and Houthis in the central province of Mareb, and Houthi military sites in the capital San'aa were hit by air strikes.