SANAA
Yemen's resigned President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi on Saturday insisted that he was still Yemen's legitimate president.
In his first statement from the southern province of Aden, following his escape from capital Sanaa, where he was under house arrest, Hadi said all decisions taken by the Shiite Houthi group since Sept. 21 of 2014 were "null" and "illegitimate."
He called on the national dialogue authority of his country to convene in Aden or the southern province of Taiz.
Hadi added that he would only abide by a Gulf initiative for solving the political crisis in Yemen and also the results of his country's national dialogue.
He called on ending the house arrest of his Prime Minister, Khaled Bahah, as well as other government officials.
Hadi called in the statement, which he signed as the "President of Yemen", on the people of Yemen to rally behind his demands.
He said his country's institutions and political and social forces should not follow moves that would lead to tension and chaos at the end of the day.
He called on the international community to take decisions to protect the political process in Yemen and also offer economic incentives to the country.
He also called on the international community to reject what he described as the "coup" that took place recently against legitimacy in his country.
Hadi, who was under house arrest by his country's Shiite Houthi group, managed to escape Yemeni capital Sanaa earlier on Saturday to the southern city of Aden.
According to sources close to Hadi, he had disguised himself and left his home without the knowledge of the Houthis.
The Yemeni leader resigned last month after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa's presidential compound, following clashes with presidential guards.
The Houthi group seized control of capital Sanaa in September and has since sought to expand its influence to other parts of the country.
Hadi meets southern governors in Aden
Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi held a meeting Sunday with a number of governors in the southern Aden province after he had fled capital Sanaa, a source close to Hadi has said.
"Hadi met with the governors of the southern provinces of Aden, Ad Dali, Lahij, Abin and Socotra," the source, who has attended the meeting, told The Anadolu Agency.
He also added that Nasser al-Tahri, who leads a key southern military base, has also attended the meeting with Hadi.
"Hadi asserted to the governors that he will continue his duties as president and that constitutional legitimacy should be upheld," the source said.
He went on to say that the attendees have "reviewed Yemen's political and security situation."
