Yemen’s president sought to resume duties as head of state on Sunday, holding his first public engagement with state officials since he fled house arrest in Sanaa by the Houthi group that dominates the northern half of the country

Yemen's president sought to resume duties as head of state on Sunday, holding his first public engagement with state officials since he fled house arrest in Sanaa by the Houthi group that dominates the northern half of the country.

Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi convened governors of several southern provinces and military commanders at the presidential retreat in the economic hub of Aden, in a meeting which was broadcast on the city's local television channel.

On Saturday Hadi appeared to rescind his resignation after he escaped from Sanaa, saying in a statement he was still president.

Hadi submitted his resignation last month after opposition popular forces cordoned off the presidential palace and held him under house arrest in the capital, following his attempts to topple the national partnership agreement.

But parliament never met to approve the resignation for it to go into effect as stipulated by Yemeni laws.

Hadi's escape and resumption of his duties could complicate talks between major political parties in Sanaa on a new transitional administration.

His flight to Aden followed an agreement between Yemen's rival factions on Friday, brokered by the United Nations, to set up a transitional council that keeps the parliament in place and gives a voice to some other groups.

U.N. envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, who is overseeing the talks, said Hadi reassured him in a telephone call on Sunday that he still supported dialogue to end the crisis but demanded they be moved to a neutral location outside the capital.

Hadi also attacked the opposition Ansarullah group, who advanced to Sanaa in order to save Yemen from corruption and from being divided by a draft constitution calling for devolving power to local authorities.

Ansarullah movement, also dubbed as Houthis, has liberated the capital Sanaa from al-Qaeda operatives last September, and worked to restore security and stability in the attack-hit areas.

The powerful group issued the Constitutional Declaration, in a bid to avoid the power vacuum in the country following the resignation of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his prime minister.