Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2015 12:08:29 +0100
The project aims to divide Yemen into six administrative regions under a federal system of rule.
The leader of Yemen's Shiite Houthi movement Abdel-Malak al-Houthi on Saturday lashed out at a blueprint for dividing Yemen into six administrative regions.
"The blueprint is an attempt to tear up this country and turn it into small and weak cantons that can easily be controlled," al-Houthi said in a televised address.
"Other countries should deal with Yemen on a basis of respect and non-intervention," he added on the occasion of the birthday of Islam's prophet Muhammad, which has been celebrated by Muslims around the world on Saturday.
Yemen's presidency has been trying to convince the country's political forces to approve the blueprint.
The project aims to divide Yemen into six administrative regions under a federal system of rule.
Al-Houthi, meanwhile, accused the United States and some regional powers of inciting what he described as "criminal" forces against the people of Yemen.
For the last several months, the Shiite Houthi group – which boasts thousands of diehard supporters countrywide – has been trying to step up its armed presence across fractious Yemen.
The group recently emerged as a political and military power in after taking over capital Sanaa in late October, from which they have sought to extend their influence into other provinces farther afield.
The Houthis' growing power has raised fears of sectarian conflict in Yemen, which has remained in the throes of political turmoil since a 2011 popular uprising ended the decades-long rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh one year later.