Houthi militants say they have “arrested” the chief of staff of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, claiming the abduction took place in order to prevent the breakdown of an UN-brokered deal.
Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak was in the centre of Yemen's capital Sanaa with two bodyguards, when his car was intercepted and he was abducted. No information is currently available on his whereabouts. The government say that Mubarak was kidnapped.
The Houthi militants released a statement warning President Hadi of "a series of special measures" that they would undertake in order to prevent an agreement between the presidency and them "from being broken". The Houthis called the abduction an “arrest” and said that they were acting in the “national interest.”
The incident comes after two Houthis appointed by Hadi late last year announced they were quitting from their roles, as the government was continually ignoring their advice on key issues.
Al Jazeera reported Saleh al-Sammad as writing on his Facebook page,
"I had done all I could in recent months to try to achieve reconciliation between the [Houthi] rebels, and the presidency and government”.
"I tried offering the president and the government advice on the need to reassure the rebels by taking measures on the ground to build confidence that there is a serious attempt to build a state, fight corruption, and end political monopoly ... but my advice fell on deaf ears."