Yemen’s president steps down, media reports say

Saudi Arabia pushed Yemen’s president to step down earlier this month, and officials have confined him to his home and restricted his communications, Report informs, citing The Wall Street Journal.

Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi announced his resignation on April 7, handing his powers to a new leadership council as Yemen entered into a fragile ceasefire that brought a rare pause in the years-long conflict.

Citing anonymous Saudi and Yemeni officials, the Journal said that Riyadh’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave Hadi a written decree delegating his powers to the council, which consists of eight representatives of different Yemeni groups.

According to the officials, some Saudi officials threatened to publicize what they said was evidence of Hadi’s corruption in their efforts to convince him to step down, the Journal wrote.

Since leaving office, Hadi has been confined to his house in Riyadh and denied access to phones, one Saudi official told the Journal.

But another Saudi official said Hadi was encouraged to resign because various Yemeni factions had lost confidence in his ability to lead the Middle Eastern nation.