ADEN — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reiterated its support for beleaguered Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after its chief met him Wednesday, just days after he escaped house arrest in Sanaa and fled south. GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani, leading a delegation of Gulf ambassadors, met Hadi at the Republican Palace in the port city of Aden. Zayani “stressed the support of GCC members for... the Yemeni president,” said a statement issued by the Riyadh-based bloc, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. After the meeting, Zayani told reporters the leaders of Gulf countries are “very happy about Hadi's exit from Sanaa and his arrival safely in Aden.” The GCC has already voiced its support for Hadi in his dispute with the Shiite Houthi militia that overran Sanaa in September. Under effective house arrest, Hadi escaped Saturday and resurfaced in Aden, where he resumed his duties and retracted a resignation he offered last month. Hadi has branded all measures adopted by the Houthis, including the creation of a presidential council, as “null and illegitimate.” Yemen's GCC neighbors rejected as a coup the Houthis' sidelining Western-backed Hadi, and the UN Security Council urged the militia to withdraw its forces from government institutions. Zayani said the GCC will keep up its efforts “to enhance security and stability in Yemen, and to support the brotherly Yemeni people to overcome the difficult situation it endures.” Saleh amassed up to $60b Ex-president Saleh is suspected of corruptly amassing as much as $60 billion, equivalent to Yemen's annual GDP, during his long rule, and colluding in the Houthi militia takeover, UN-appointed investigators have told the Security Council. The report by the world body's Panel of Experts on Yemen echoes criticism by his opponents that Saleh's rule from 1978 to 2012 was marred by graft, and that even out of office he is fomenting instability — allegations he has consistently denied. Presented with the experts' 54-page findings, the Council voted Tuesday to extend sanctions on Saleh and two militia leaders, first targeted by the world body in November for their alleged role in destabilizing the country. — Agencies
