(AA) – UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar arrived Wednesday in the southern Yemeni city of Aden to meet with embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and other political leaders, a source close to the president said.
Benomar is expected to brief Hadi on proposals to end the political crisis in the country, including the formation of a presidential council at Hadi’s helm or the appointment of one of his deputies to oversee a transitional period, the source, requesting anonymity, told The Anadolu Agency.
The UN envoy is due to hold a press conference in Aden later in the day to brief press on the progress of talks, the source added.
In February, Hadi fled Sanaa – where he had been placed under house arrest by Shiite Houthi militants for weeks – to Aden.
Upon his arrival in the southern city, Hadi dismissed as “null” and “illegitimate” all recent decrees issued by the militant Shiite group. He also wrote to Yemen’s parliament withdrawing a resignation he had tendered earlier.
On Feb. 6, the Houthis issued what they described as a constitutional declaration, dissolving parliament and establishing a 551-member transitional council.
The declaration, however, was rejected by most of Yemen’s political forces – along with some neighboring Gulf countries – which described it as a coup against constitutional legitimacy.
