Aden: Yemen’s beleaguered Western-backed president escaped house arrest and fled the capital to friendly territory yesterday, labelling as a coup the grab for power by the Sha militia that had held him.
An aide said presidential guards had sneaked Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi out of his residence in Sana’a, and that he later made it to Aden. Hadi was staying in a presidential residence in the port city’s Khormaksar diplomatic district.
In a statement, signed as president, he said all measures taken by the Houthis since they seized Sana’a in September and began a push to extend their control farther afield were “null and illegitimate”. The aide said Hadi will call on parliament to meet in Aden, as powerful tribes in the southern provinces of Marib, Jawaf and Baida urged him to declare Sana’a an “occupied city”. He said Hadi “remains the legitimate president and that he resigned under pressure from Houthis”.
The president called for the national commission overseeing the drafting of a new constitution to create a federation to convene, saying it should meet in Aden or Taez province until Sana’a “returns as a safe capital for all Yemenis, and the withdrawal of all armed militia”.
Hadi demanded an end to the “house arrest” of Prime Minister Khalid Bahah and other officials, urging Arab states and the UN Security Council to “protect the process in Yemen”. AFP
