Scores of Yemeni people Friday headed to a public square to watch an arm wrestling competition held in the war-ravaged Arab country.

The opening match for the new sporting event was organized in the southern port city of Aden under the auspices of local Yemeni government officials.

Nearly 30 arm wrestlers from different neighborhoods of Aden were invited to participate in the competition held for the first time in the impoverished Arab country.

The arm-wrestling competition attracted scores of Yemenis, mostly young people, who intended to find out more information about the new game and its rules.

"Arm wrestling is not well-known in Yemen and no such competition was held previously in the whole country," said Jamil Saber, an Aden-based young resident.

"It's very beneficial particularly for us as young people in terms of bodybuilding, and we hope to exercise it regularly," he said.

The majority of Yemen's people are aspiring to see an end to years of deadly military conflict and months of coronavirus pandemic to exercise their lives normally without fears or woes, according to Saber.

The Houthi rebels launched a large military campaign and seized the capital Sanaa in late 2014, forcing Yemen's internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government into exile.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily in March 2015, in response to an official request from Hadi to protect Yemen and roll back Iran's influence.

Three-quarters of the population, or more than 22 million people, urgently require humanitarian assistance, including 8.4 million struggling to find their next meal.