SANAA
The Shiite Houthi group on Tuesday released Mohamed al-Saadi, the Industry and Commerce Minister at the embattled Yemeni government, after having detained him for hours near capital, according to a source from al-Saadi's party.
"Al-Saadi is back in his home in Sanaa after he was released by the Houthis," the source, requesting anonymity, told The Anadolu Agency.
Some local media outlets had said that the Houthis put al-Saadi, the secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood's Al-Islah Party, on house arrest after they had prohibited him from departing to the southern Aden province through Sanaa International Airport.
Al-Islah had held the Houthis responsible for Al-Saadi's safety and demanded his immediate release.
On Saturday, Yemen's resigned Information Minister Nadia al-Saqqaf said on Twitter that since President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi fled Sanaa to the southern city of Aden, security forces had been deployed near the homes of both al-Saaadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah.
Upon his arrival to Aden on Saturday, Hadi declared that all decisions taken by the Houthis since Sept. 21 of last year – when the Shiite group took control of capital Sanaa – were "null" and "illegitimate."
Hadi tendered his resignation to parliament last month after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa's presidential compound amid clashes with presidential guards.
The parliament, however, has failed to convene ever since to accept or reject the resignation.
Since it seized Sanaa last September, the Houthi group has sought to consolidate its control over other parts of the country as well.
Earlier this month, the Houthis issued what it described as a constitutional declaration dissolving Yemen's parliament and establishing a 551-member transitional council.
The declaration was rejected by most of Yemen's political forces – along with some neighboring countries – which described it as a coup against constitutional legitimacy.
