ADEN: Yemen’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi on Saturday dismissed all measures taken by the Shia Huthi militia as “null and illegitimate”, in his first public comments since fleeing house arrest in Sanaa.

In a statement he signed as president, in an apparent retraction of a previous offer to resign, Mr Hadi said “all measures and appointments made since September 21 are null and illegitimate”, and urged the international community to “reject the coup” by the militia.

An aide said the president’s resignation last month was tendered under pressure from the militia that overran the capital on September 21.

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Hadi escaped weeks of house arrest by the Huthi militia at his official residence and fled to his hometown of Aden, sources close to him said.

The Huthis, who said they were taken unaware by his flight from the capital, have now called an urgent meeting of the cabinet in Sanaa’s presidential palace, a government official said.

Mr Hadi’s flight to Aden follows an agreement between Yemen’s rival factions on Friday, brokered by the United Nations, to set up a transitional council that keeps the parliament in place and gives a voice to some other groups.

He fled his residence in disguise, Huthi politburo member Ali al-Qahoum was quoted as saying by the local news website al-Akhbar. But it added that it no longer mattered if the former president remained there or departed.

The United Nations denied reports by two senior political sources in Sanaa that it had helped Mr Hadi travel to Aden as false.

Mr Hadi’s Sanaa residence was looted by Huthi militiamen after he left, witnesses said, but that was denied by Mr Qahoum.

Militiamen open fire on protesters in Ibb, killing one person and wounding another

The former president arrived at his home in the Aden district of Khormaksar, sources said.

Early on Saturday, Huthi militiamen opened fire on protesters in the central city of Ibb, killing one person and wounding another, activists said.

The crowd had gathered in a square to demonstrate against the Huthis’ role in ousting the government last month.

Following the shooting, thousands more people took to the streets in protest. Witnesses said the Huthis were deploying more security forces in response.

Western countries are worried that unrest in Yemen could create opportunities for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to plot more attacks against international targets.

Late on Friday a drone destroyed a car carrying suspected members of AQAP in Shawbwa Province, a bastion of the militant group in the rugged mountains of southern Yemen, killing at least three people, residents said.

The United States has acknowledged it carries out drone strikes against militant targets in Yemen but does not comment on specific attacks. The strikes, which have sometimes killed civilians, have angered many people in the country.

Published in Dawn February 22nd , 2015

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