Yemen’s deposed president Abdrabbu Mansour al-Hadi has withdrawn his resignation following his escape from house arrest. Al-Hadi, who is now in the southern city of Aden, is reported to be holding meetings with loyal security officials.

Al-Hadi resigned following what he has called a “coup” by the Shia Houthi tribe in January and has been under house arrest since Houthi militias overran his private residence a month ago.

In a statement signed ‘president of the republic of Yemen’, Al-Hadi has claimed he is in his home town of Aden and is trying to regain control of the country.

The statement, which was read out on the Doha-based Aljazeera news channel, went on to claim that Al-Hadi and his loyalists are committed to the 2012 transition plan that followed the ousting of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

On 23 February, several protests spread across the country in support of the deposed president. The Bani Hilal tribe in the southern province of Shabwa came out in support, while similar demonstrations of support was displayed on the streets of the central city of Taiz and the capital Sanaa.

In September 2014, the Houthi’s took over Sanaa and have since dissolved the parliament, replacing it with a ruling council. The Houthi offensive has been condemned by neighboring GCC countries and the wider international community, as fears that the unrest in Yemen could allow for Al-Qaeda affiliated groups to thrive in the region.

The GCC has supported Al-Hadi’s attempts to regain control of the country and has called the Houthi offensive “illegal and illegitimate”.