Yemeni leader calls for general mobilization against Houthis

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen 's Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, on Friday called for a general mobilization in the war-torn country. "I call upon the sons of our great people to engage in general mobilization and national mobilization, to rally around their armed and security forces," al-Alimi, who is also Supreme Commander of the Yemeni Armed Forces, said in a televised address. The head of the governing body urged his compatriots to join the government forces weeks after Yemen's government was dealt a major blow by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels .