Aden: Yemen’s President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi on Saturday called on Al Houthi militia to leave the capital Sana’a and for its allied militias to quit government ministries in his first televised speech since escaping house arrest last month.
Hadi urged all parties in Yemen to attend peace talks in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, but also vowed to plant the national flag in Al Houthi stronghold of Sa’ada.
Hadi said Yemen must return to the political situation in place before Al Houthis took control of Sana’a, reinstituting its constitution and implementing the results of a national dialogue process and Gulf-sponsored political transition.
In his speech, he denounced Al Houthis as “coup plotters” and said he wanted to confront sectarianism. Addressing Al Houthi accusations that he planned to back a southern secessionist movement, he said his flight to Aden had been intended to preserve Yemeni unity.
Al Houthis, who are allied with Iran, seized Sana’a in September and then besieged Hadi’s residence in January, leading him to offer his resignation and resulting in his house arrest by the group before he escaped to Aden last month.
Hadi and Al Houthis have since then commanded rival power centres in north and south Yemen, leading to fears of a full-scale civil war, and giving groups such as Al Qaida more space to operate.
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