GCC reiterates support for beleaguered Yemen leader
The Gulf Cooperation Council reiterated its support for beleaguered Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi after its chief met him yesterday, just days after he escaped house arrest in Sana’a and fled to south.
GCC secretary-general Abdul Latif Al Zayani, leading a delegation of Gulf ambassadors, met Hadi at the Republican Palace in Aden, a presidential aide said.
Al Zayani “stressed the support of GCC members for... the Yemeni president,” said a statement issued by the Riyadh-based bloc, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
After the meeting, Al Zayani told reporters the leaders of Gulf countries are “very happy about Hadi’s exit from Sana’a and his arrival safely in Aden.”
The GCC has already voiced its support for Hadi in his dispute with Al Houthi militia that overran Sana’a in September.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s expresident Ali Abdullah Saleh is believed to have amassed between $32 billion and $60 billion through corruption during his 33 years in power, a UN report said yesterday.
The Gulf Cooperation Council reiterated its support for beleaguered Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi after its chief met him yesterday, just days after he escaped house arrest in Sana’a and fled south.
GCC secretary general Abdul Latif Al Zayani, leading a delegation of Gulf ambassadors, met Hadi at the republican palace in the port city of Aden, a presidential aide said.
Al Zayani “stressed the support of GCC members for... the Yemeni president,” said a statement issued by the Riyadhbased bloc, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
After the meeting, Al Zayani told reporters the leaders of Gulf countries are “very happy about Hadi’s exit from Sana’a and his arrival safely in Aden.”
The GCC has already voiced its support for Hadi in his dispute with Al Houthi militia that overran Sana’a in September.
Under effective house arrest, Hadi escaped Saturday and resurfaced in Aden, where he resumed his duties and retracted a resignation he offered last month.
Hadi has branded all measures adopted by Al Houthis, including the creation of a presidential council, as “null and illegitimate.”
Yemen’s GCC neighbours rejected as a coup Al Houthis’ sidelining of Western-backed Hadi, and the UN Security Council urged the militia to withdraw its forces from government institutions.
Zayani said the GCC will keep up its efforts “to enhance security and stability in Yemen, and to support the brotherly Yemeni people to overcome the difficult situation it endures.”
Al Houthis said on Tuesday Hadi had lost his legitimacy as head of state and was being sought as a fugitive from justice. Hadi who escaped from house arrest in Sana’a is now guarded by thousands of tribesmen and army loyalists in Aden.