The aides said former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi left Sanaa and later arrived in Aden. They say Mr. Hadi later plans to leave the country to receive medical treatment.

The aides say the rebels let Mr. Hadi go after pressure from the United Nations, the U.S., Russia and local political parties.

The aides spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorised to speak to journalists.

Witnesses said the Houthis and others in the area later ransacked Mr. Hadi’s house and at least three people were seen each taking out a Kalashnikov assault rifle from the house.

Jamal Benomar, the U.N. envoy to Yemen, said Friday that rival factions, including the Houthis, have agreed on a new legislative body consisting of former and new lawmakers to serve during the country’s upcoming transition period.

But a coalition of Yemeni parties voiced objections to the plan, describing it as an insufficient half-solution.

Ahmed Lakaz, spokesman of the Unionist Gathering Party, which is taking part in the dialogue, said the parties told the Houthis that they would be out of the process if Mr. Hadi was not freed.

Yemen has been locked in a political crisis since the Houthi rebels took over the capital and eventually forced the resignation of the elected Western-backed President and dissolved the parliament while keeping Mr. Hadi under house arrest.

The political crisis cast also doubts on the United States’ ability to continue its counter-terrorism operations, especially with loss of Mr. Hadi, a strong U.S. ally. (The Hindu)