Hundreds of Yemenis took to the streets of Sanaa on Sunday demanding the departure of Shiite rebels, in the first demonstration against the insurgents since they overran the capital last week.

Protesters from the February 11 Revolution movement marched along the main Zubairi road chanting slogans against the Huthi rebels who remain in control of most of Sanaa, an AFP correspondent reported.

"We don't want Huthis anymore," shouted the demonstrators, whose movement was behind the 2011 uprising which ousted former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Huthi rebels are heavily deployed across Sanaa but there were no reports of confrontations between the insurgents and Sunday's demonstrators.

The rebels swept down from their stronghold in the rugged northwestern mountains last month demanding economic and political reforms.

Last week, they seized key state installations without resistance, most of them in northern Sanaa, after clashes on the city's outskirts with Islamists had killed more than 270 people.

The demonstrators issued a statement demanding the "withdrawal of all armed militias from the capital and the return of security forces."

They also urged the Huthi rebels to "apologise to the Yemeni people" and implement a UN-brokered peace agreement, including a security protocol that stipulated the withdrawal of rebels from Sanaa once a new prime minister is named.

But President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has failed so far to name a new premier as stipulated by the agreement.

The rebels have signed the protocol after an initial hesitation, state and rebel media said Saturday.

Also known as Ansarullah, they have battled the government for years, complaining of marginalisation.

Yemeni authorities have repeatedly accused Iran of backing the rebels, who also appear influenced by Lebanon's powerful Shiite militia Hezbollah, which is supported by Tehran.

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