Hundreds of thousands of supporters of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh amassed around central Sanaa in a show of support for ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose party, the General People's Congress (GPC) is on Thursday marking 35 years since its founding.

Demonstrators packed into Sabaeen Square, waving the flag of Saleh's GPC and carrying pictures of the 75-year-old leader.

Travelling from provinces across the country, Yemenis made their way to the capital, pouring into the streets around the square in a show of force for the ex-president.

Saleh ruled Yemen from its unification in 1990 until his resignation under local and regional pressure in 2012.

TRT World spoke with Mohammed al Attab on the latest.

A message to Houthis

Fighters loyal to the armed Houthi movement, which runs northern Yemen together with Saleh, decried him as "evil" a day earlier and condemned his description of them as a "militia."

The Houthi leadership recommended the announcement of a state of emergency and suspension of all "party activity," telling Saleh's supporters any mass gatherings should be made on battlefronts, not in public squares.

Thursday's gathering went ahead, regardless.

"We are ready to fill the fronts with thousands of fighters and they are ready to go," said Saleh, wearing a dark suit and speaking from behind protective glass as armed men in fatigues stood guard.

The tactical alliance between Saleh and the Houthis has often appeared fragile, with both groups suspicious of each other's ultimate motives and sharing little ideological ground.

Criticism rises tension

The Houthis have also set their own rallies around the city and at its main entry points.

Activists say the Houthis' call for rallies at entrances came out of fears of a coup attempt by Saleh's supporters.

Witnesses said the Shia Houthi rebels had set up checkpoints at the main entrances to the city but did not stop Saleh's supporters from reaching the square.

The rallies threaten to bring a schism between both and might even end their two-year alliance against the Saudi-backed forces.

The tension between both was escalated last week following Saleh's criticism of Houthis for failing to run state institutions and pay workers, effectively blaming them for causing near-famine in the country.

Houthis slammed Saleh and in a statement released yesterday, labelling Saleh a " traitor who crossed a red line."

The dispute threatens a new, dangerous aspect of an already vicious war in Yemen that has pitted Houthis alongside supporters of Saleh against loyalists of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, the president who is backed by a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE.

Millions in the country now face starvation and disease, and more than 10,000 have been killed since 2015.