Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi stepped down under pressure from Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing Saudi and Yemeni officials, who added that the ex-Yemeni president is now being held under de-facto home arrest in Riyadh and has limited communications with the outside world.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly handed Hadi a “written order” during talks in Riyadh, which outlined provisions for the delegation of powers to the newly created council. Prince Mohammed told Hadi that other Yemeni leaders had agreed that it was time for him to relinquish power, according to the officials.
In an attempt to convince Hadi to give up power, Saudi officials have reportedly threatened to release evidence of his alleged corrupt activities.
“Hadi is effectively under house arrest at his residence in Riyadh without access to phones,” a Saudi official told The WSJ.
Hadi’s former press secretary, Mukhtar al-Rahbi, reportedly said Hadi’s removal violated the constitution and disenfranchised the millions of Yemenis who voted for him.
Since March 2015, the Saudi-led Arab alliance, in cooperation with Hadi’s forces, has been conducting air, land and sea operations against the Houthis. The protracted conflict has killed an estimated 377,000 people and brought about a major humanitarian crisis in the country.
Earlier this month, the sides to the conflict reached an agreement on a two-month truce starting April 2, with the possibility of further extension. The parties agreed to stop all offensive military operations inside and outside Yemen, to let ships carrying oil products enter the Al Hudaydah port in the Red Sea and to allow commercial flights to and from the Sanaa airport to predetermined sites in the region. The parties also pledged to consider the possibility of opening roads in Taiz and other governorates. The truce was timed to coincide with the start of inter-Yemeni talks in Riyadh.