UN voices support for legitimacy of Yemeni president

The UN Security Council on Sunday adopted a presidential statement on Yemen, voicing support for Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi and calling upon all parties to refrain from taking actions that undermine the legitimacy of the president.

"The Security Council supports the legitimacy of the President of Yemen, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and calls upon all parties and member states to refrain from taking any actions that undermine the unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Yemen, and the legitimacy of the president of Yemen," said a statement, Xinhua reported.

The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Yemen on Sunday afternoon following a series of terrorist attacks in the country over the past few days. Reports said Hadi, Yemen's pro-West president, sent a letter to the council on Friday, asking for its "urgent intervention" to protect the country's constitutional legality.

Briefing the council via video link, UN Secretary General's Special Advisor Jamal Benomar warned that the ongoing violence and chaos in Yemen have raised the specter of civil war in the country.

In the statement, the council condemned the ongoing unilateral actions taken by the Houthi rebels, which "undermine the political transition process in Yemen, and jeopardise the security, stability, sovereignty and unity of Yemen".

The council also deplored that the Houthis have not implemented its resolution to withdraw their forces from government institutions and normalise the security situation in the capital Sanaa and other provinces, according to the statement.

The Shia Houthi group took over control of Yemen's capital Sanaa in September and met strong resistance in the central and southern regions from powerful Sunni tribes and Sunni-dominated Al Qaeda network.

Hadi fled to the southern port city of Aden in February after being placed under house arrest by the rebels, and the remains of his government have made the city their provisional capital

Due to increasing insecurity in Yemen, the US announced earlier on Sunday the evacuation of its remaining personnel from the country.

US troops were evacuated from the Al Anad air base in southern Yemen on Saturday, after the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula seized the city of al-Houta nearby.

The city came under attacks by Al Qaeda fighters on Friday, although they were later driven out by the Yemeni army, just one day after suicide bombers killed at least 137 people in the capital Sanaa.

The Security Council urged all parties to agree upon and announce publicly dates for completing the constitutional consultation process, and called upon all parties, in particular the Houthis, to abide by the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism and to accelerate inclusive UN-brokered negotiations so as to continue the political transition in order to reach a consensus solution.