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GCC chief visits Yemeni president in Aden

Xinhua, February 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif al-Zayani along with a number of Gulf ambassadors arrived Wednesday in the southern port city of Aden and met with Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

"President Hadi and a number of the GCC ambassadors accredited to Yemen have ended their first meeting at the Republican Palace in Aden, during which they discussed with Hadi the country's current political crisis and announced their full support to the president," a government official in Aden told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The six oil-rich countries condemned the Houthi group for taking over the capital by force, he said.

"Hadi informed the GCC officials about the possibility of making Aden a temporary capital and the reopening of the closed embassies," the official added.

Earlier this week, the Sunni-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council expressed support for the "constitutionally legitimate authority" of Hadi, condemning the takeover of the country's capital Sanaa by the Shiite Houthi militia.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have closed their embassies in Sanaa in protest to the move of the Houthi group.

On Monday, Hadi retracted his resignation and resumed carrying on his presidential duties in the port city of Aden.

Hadi left his house in the capital Sanaa on Saturday after about three weeks of house arrest imposed by the Shiite Houthi militants since late January when they seized control of the capital.

He took office in 2012, but submitted the resignation to the parliament on Jan. 22 amid standoff with the Houthi group. Hadi and most of his cabinet members had since been put under house arrest.

Hundreds of protesters rallied in Sanaa on Wednesday to show support to Hadi and urged the Houthi fighters to withdraw from the capital and return all state institutions to the government.

Yemen's Supreme Revolutionary Committee led by the Houthi group said on Tuesday that outgoing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has lost legitimacy and is wanted for justice.

"The Supreme Revolutionary Committee is monitoring the suspicious movements of the so called Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has lost legitimacy as the president of the Republic of Yemen," the committee said in a statement carried by the official Saba news agency that is controlled by the Houthi group.

It also warned the state employees and officials not to deal with Hadi as president or executes his orders. Otherwise, they will be subjected to legal accountability. Endit