WASHINGTON is building a number of military bases in eastern Yemen and the southern city of Aden, Houthi forces have claimed.  

Leader of the Ansarullah resistance movement Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned against US interference, saying that the Yemeni people would never accept Washington’s diktat.

He told a meeting of tribal leaders that “the enemies are hell-bent on sowing the seeds of discord and division among people by hook or by crook.”

He claimed the US was building several military bases in the country’s eastern provinces of Hadhramaut and al-Mahrah as well as on the Red Sea coast. 

The Houthi leader said that Yemen’s enemies were seeking to exploit the UN-brokered ceasefire which came into effect during the holy month of Ramadan and were mobilising in preparation for the next stage of the war. 

The United States backs the Saudi-led coalition in its devastating bombing of Yemen which started in March 2015 with the aim of restoring president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi who was ousted in a popular Houthi-led uprising. 

Last month he ceded power to a new presidential leadership council led by former Yemeni interior minister and security official Rashad al-Alimi, which vowed to bring an end to seven years of war. 

“Enemies, having become fairly frustrated with attempts to impose their diktats through ousted Yemeni president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, have decided to remove him in a humiliating matter,” Mr Houthi said on Thursday. 

“They brought a bunch of criminals, traitors, and thieves to power, and declared them as the leaders of the Yemeni nation. They are actually the picks of outsiders, not Yemenis.”

He said the people of Yemen would never accept living under the spectre of the United States, calling for an end to foreign domination of the country. 

“Yemeni people will continue to tread the path of independence and freedom, and will prevent foreigners from interfering in their domestic affairs,” he said. 

Yemen faces a humanitarian catastrophe that has seen nearly 400,000 people killed and a further 17 million condemned to starvation.

Some 250,000 missiles have been fired since 2015 with the Saudi-led bombings, which have targeted civilian areas amid accusations of war crimes, supported by Britain, France and the US.