(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Beleaguered President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, who fled to Aden after escaping from Shia militia controlling Sana'a, considers the southern port city to be Yemen's capital, an aide said yesterday.
But tensions were running high in Aden, as special forces suspected of links to the militia known as Houthis readied defences against an anticipated assault by Hadi loyalists.
"Aden became the capital of Yemen as soon as the Houthis occupied Sana'a," the aide quoted Hadi as saying in reference to their takeover of Sana'a several months ago.
Hadi also accused ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis of links with Iran, and spoke of his escape from Sana'a and Houthi demands to integrate thousands of their militants into the army and police and secure top government posts.
His remarks about Aden reflect his determination to hold out against Houthi efforts to extend their influence but are purely symbolic because moving the capital requires a change to the constitution.
The special forces commander in Aden, Abdel Hafez Al Saqqaf, has defied a decree by Hadi sacking him and said he will only follow orders from the presidential council in Sana'a.
His men have cut roads leading to their headquarters near Aden's international airport and set up barricades, saying they fear an assault by the Popular Resistance Committees, loyal to Hadi.
Several Gulf states have already moved their embassies to Aden after an exodus of foreign diplomats from Sana'a in February over security concerns.
Aden, the country's second largest city, was capital of a once independent south Yemen. The Houthis named a "presidential council" after Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah tendered their resignations in January in protest at what critics branded an attempted coup. After fleeing house arrest in Sana'a, Hadi resurfaced in Aden where he retracted his resignation. Bahah remains trapped in the capital.
Hadi said he escaped his Sana'a residence through a tunnel linking it to the nearby house of one of his sons and travelled to Aden using back roads. The Houthis oppose a plan for a six-region federation, which Hadi hopes to implement, saying it would divide Yemen into rich and poor areas. Hadi said yesterday that the Houthis had demanded 135 top government jobs and the vice presidency for one of their leaders, Saleh Al Sammad. They also demanded that 35,000 militiamen be integrated into the armed forces and 25,000 into the police.
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