Yemen's defence minister was to resume his duties from second city Aden today after defecting from the Shiite militia which controls the capital, a source in the president's office said.
General Mahmud Subaihi's overnight escape from Sanaa follows that of Western-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who has called on ministers to join him in the southern port city to reestablish the government.
The minister reached Aden unharmed but at least one of his guards was killed in a firefight with Huthi militiamen during the escape, a military source told AFP.
The militia had named Subaihi head of a new security committee when they completed their seizure of power in Sanaa in February.
State television in Aden broadcast footage of Subaihi later today being greeted by local authorities and tribal leaders in his home village of Huaireb, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Aden.
The military source said one of his guards, who was travelling in a second convoy which left an hour later, was killed in a clash with the Huthis near the central city of Taez.
The militiamen captured another five people travelling in the second convoy but later released them under pressure from local tribes, he added.
Tribal sources, however, said six people were killed in the gun battle.
The government in which Subaihi served tendered its resignation under militia pressure in January but it was never accepted.
Prime minister Khalid Bahah and most other ministers remain under house arrest in the capital.
Hadi, who tendered his resignation in January, withdrew it after escaping to Aden last month saying he had acted under militia duress.
The city, which was the capital of an independent south Yemen before its union with the north in 1990, is largely in the hands of troops and militia loyal to the president.
Hadi said yesterday that he now regards it as Yemen's capital because of the militia's grip on Sanaa.
