Violence breaks out between Houthis, protesters amid Yemen peace talks in Geneva

(Image credit: Twitter.com/MiddleEastEye)

published 18 June 2015

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.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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