Yemen’s President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi fled the capital Sanaa on Saturday after three weeks under house arrest by militia of the Houthi faction which has taken power.
Hadi arrived in the main southern city of Aden, where his supporters have refused to recognize the authority of the Presidential council installed by the Houthis last month.
An aide said Presidential guards managed to sneak Mr Hadi out of his residence in Sanaa “without an arrangement or even informing any of the political parties”.
Hadi later said, in his first public comments since the Houthi takeover, that all their measures since September 21 are “null and illegitimate”. He urged the international community to “reject the coup”.
Hadi also called for a national commission to oversee the drafting of a new Constitution, turning the republic into a federation recognizing demands for autonomy by southern factions. He said the Government should meet in Aden or Taez province until Sanaa “returns as a safe capital for all Yemenis, and the withdrawal of all armed militia”.
Hadi was the Vice-President under Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than 21 years until he was ousted by an uprising in 2012. Hadi then took the Presidency under a UN-brokered agreement.
The Houthis, a Zaidi Shia group based in northern Yemen, moved into Sanaa in September. After months of negotiations, they seized Hadi’s Presidential Palace in January. He initially said he was resigning, but has retracted that statement.
Prime Minister Khalid Bahah and other officials remain under house arrest in the capital, according to Hadi.
The Houthis have advanced south and west of Sanaa into mainly Sunni areas, but have met resistance from tribesmen. Some parts of the north and all of the south of Yemen remain beyond their control.
The UN has been trying to negotiate a new political settlement, including a new legislative authority to negotiate with the Houthis and southern separatists.
However, the talks were suspended because of the “new developments”, according to one of the participants.
