GCC backs presidential 'legitimacy' of Yemen's Hadi

The secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdelatif al-Zayani, said Wednesday that GCC member states supported the legitimacy of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Following a meeting with Hadi in the southern city of Aden, al-Zayani said Gulf States also backed the political process led by the Yemeni president.

"Yemen's security is inseparable from the security of the Gulf," al-Zayani said.

He said the Gulf States were relieved by Hadi's successful departure from capital Sanaa, where he had been placed under house arrest by the Shiite Houthi militia.

Hadi later arrived in the southern city of Aden.

Al-Zayani, for his part, invited Yemen's political forces to return to the country's political process.

The GCC secretary-general left Aden on Wednesday following his talks with the Yemeni leader.

Yemen began a new chapter of anarchy last September when the Shiite Houthi militia took control of capital Sanaa before moving on to establish control in other provinces.

On Saturday, Hadi fled the capital – where he had been placed under house arrest by the Houthis – to the southern city of Aden.

Upon his arrival in Aden, he declared himself the country's "legitimate" leader, asserting that all Houthi decrees issued since September were "null" and "illegitimate."

Houthis attack protest in Sanaa

Meanwhile, Houthi militants on Wednesday attacked an opposition protest in capital Sanaa following several similar incidents seen in recent days.  

Houthi militants used live ammunition and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators. They also prevented a number of protesters from heading to the centre of Sanaa.

Opposition protests – against the Houthi militia and in support of President Hadi – have been staged across Yemen for the last several weeks.

On Wednesday, Houthi militants abducted several opposition demonstrators, although the exact number remains unclear.

Houthis clash with army, loot camp in Hudaydah

Meanwhile, Houthi militants on Wednesday looted arms and equipment from a coast guard camp in Yemen's western city of al-Hudaydah.

The Houthis entered the camp and seized its contents following bloody clashes with troops guarding it, a local official said.

The source, who requested anonymity, added that a soldier had been killed and two others wounded during the clashes.

He said three Houthi militants had also been wounded.

"The Houthis managed to enter the camp and steal light weapons and other equipment from the depots," the source said.

The camp was affiliated with Yemen's Coast Guard, a branch of the country's armed forces. The camp was responsible for guarding Yemen's western Red Sea coast.

Damning UN report

The Houthis have long been known to receive direct support from Iran, but the UN on Tuesday also accused the Houthis of being strongly supported by Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

A damning report, compiled by four experts, outlines how Saleh backed the Houthis as they pushed toward the capital in order to “seek revenge” against those who helped topple him in 2011, sources told the UN investigators.

Saleh stepped down at the end of 2011 following months of often deadly protests against his 33-year rule that broke out on the back of the Arab Spring.

The former strongman was given immunity in exchange for stepping down, but many have accused him and his son of continuing to pull strings in Yemen and wielding influence in the army.

According to the UN, Saleh is estimated to have personal assets worth $32-60bn, accumulated over decades spent defrauding the impoverished country’s coffers. If the top figure proves true, Saleh would be regarded as the world’s fifth richest man in the Forbes Magazine rich list, above Oracle CEO and founder Larry Ellison who has an estimated worth of $54.1bn and just below Spanish retail mogul and Zara founder Amancio Ortega, who has an estimated worth of $67bn.