Houthis to open Farsi language department at University of Sanaa

Houthi militias – who control Yemen’s capital Sanaa – are setting up a Farsi language course at the University of Sanaa, Yemeni news site Marib Press reported on Saturday.

According to academic sources, the president of the university recently issued a decision to establish the department immediately and to begin to accept students.

The course is reportedly expected to begin later this month, in which a declaration ceremony is expected to take place with the attendance of an official from the Iranian embassy in Sanaa.

The Farsi language department will be replacing the Turkish language department, which had reportedly been stopped by the Houthis last year for political reasons.

Teaching staff will include Houthis who received higher education in Iran, as well as the cultural attaché from the Iranian embassy in Sanaa.

YEmen aP

Sanaa University – established in 1970 – halted studies in march last year for several days when university professors and staff launched a strike in protest against Houthi militias storming the university and taking control by appointing a new chairman and faculty deans who supported the Houthi movement.

Students have protested several times, demanding the expulsion of militias from the university and an end to their occupation of the campus.