Yemen's Hadi in Oman for Arab summit: Sources

SANAA

Yemen's embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi has left Yemen for Oman en route to Egypt, where he will attend a planned Arab summit that will kick off on Saturday, local sources have said.

"Hadi and a number of officials left Yemen, crossing the border to Oman before flying to Egypt's town of Sharm el-Sheikh to attend the Arab summit," one source told The Anadolu Agency.

According to the source, Hadi's departure was coordinated with the Omani authorities.

Conflicting reports had emerged earlier regarding Hadi's whereabouts.

While sources close to the embattled president said he was still in Yemen, the pro-Houthi Al-Massira television channel reported earlier that Hadi had fled Aden to Oman.

Hadi left the presidential palace in Aden on Wednesday after the Houthis advanced in force on the southern port city.

The Shiite Houthi group is offering a $93,000 bounty for Hadi, who the group describes as a "fugitive."

Fractious Yemen has descended into violence and chaos since last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.

The Houthi takeover prompted Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries to launch a military operation – including airstrikes – on Houthi positions across Yemen late Wednesday.

Oman is not participating in the anti-Houthi offensive.

Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency.