Yemenis block road connecting Marib to Sana’a over US drone attacks

Yemeni tribesmen have blocked a highway connecting the central province of Marib to the capital in protest at US assassination drone attacks in their country.

The road connects Sana’a to the provinces of Marib, al-Jawf, Shabwa, Hadramout and al-Mahra.

On Saturday, at least eight people were killed in US drone attacks in Abieda valley in Marib province. Local residents said two Saudi nationals were among the dead.

Washington uses its assassination drones in Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia, claiming that they target the terrorists. The attacks, however, have mostly led to massive civilian casualties.

The United Nations has censured the US drone attacks as targeted killings, stressing that the raids flout international law. Reports, however, say that the CIA is seeking to expand its covert drone attacks in Yemen.

Yemenis have held several anti-US rallies across the country over the past months and have called on their government to cut all ties with Washington over the deadly airstrikes.

Some reports say US drone operations in Yemen nearly tripled in 2012 compared to the previous year.