SANAA // Yemen’s prime minister Khalid Bahah was poised to leave the capital Sanaa on Monday after a Shiite militia freed him from two months of house arrest.
Mr Bahah said on his Facebook page that other captive members of his government, which offered its resignation in January, would also be released in a “goodwill gesture” by the Houthi militia that would “push forward” UN-brokered reconciliation efforts.
Western and GCC-backed president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi has said he never accepted the resignation of Mr Bahah’s government and has called on ministers to join him in Yemen’s second city Aden, where he established his authority after escaping from Sanaa last month.
Defence minister General Mahmud Subaihi reached Aden this month, escaping after a firefight with Houthi militiamen that killed at least one of his guards.
But Mr Bahah said that his government “does not intend to act as caretaker due to the exceptional circumstances” in the country.
He also announced no immediate plans to travel to Aden, saying he would head to his native province of Hadramawt in the south-east to visit his family.
Mr Bahah had been held under house arrest by the Houthis since January 19, three days before he tendered his resignation.
He was among several government members detained by the militia whose release the United Nations has repeatedly demanded.
His release comes just one day after UN envoy Jamal Benomar made a new appeal to the Houthis to “immediately” free Mr Bahah and his ministers, after meetings with them at their residences in Sanaa.
The Houthis, who have been in control of the capital since last September, seized the presidential palace in January.
In February, they dissolved the government and parliament and formed a presidential council to replace Mr Hadi but later that month he succeeded in escaping from Sanaa and fled to Aden.
Neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a major supporter of Mr Hadi which has repeatedly slammed the Houthis’ “coup”, has offered to host Yemen crisis talks and said in a joint statement with fellow Gulf states that the Shiite militia were free to take part.
Late on Sunday, the Houthi militia leader said the group was engaged in indirect talks with Saudi Arabia, Yemeni state news agency Saba reported.
“Our contacts with Saudi Arabia have not stopped and indirect contacts took place during the last two days,” Abdel Malek Al Houthi was quoted as saying.
“We welcome any relations with our Arab and Islamic neighbours on the basis of respect for the other and non-interference,” he said.
It is the first known dialogue between the group and the Sunni regional powerhouse since the Houthis took over much of Yemen last year.
Saudi Arabia, impoverished Yemen’s main benefactor, suspended its financial aid soon after the takeover and has accused Shiite-majority Iran of backing the group as part of a possible region-wide power grab.
The Houthis say their rise is a revolution against corruption and misrule, but a civil aviation deal signed with Tehran last month and a series of military drills by the group on the Saudi border last week have increased tensions.
Speaking about Iran, Mr Al Houthi said he was open to its aid.
“We are looking for a balanced relationship with everyone in our Arab and regional neighbourhood who wants to give any unconditional aid to Yemen,” he said. “The door is open to all and without any preconditions.”
* Agence France-Presse and Reuters
