Children play at the Dharawan camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near Sanaa, Yemen, on March 25, 2022. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.(Photo: Xinhua)

Saudi Arabia pushed Yemen's president to step down earlier in April, and officials have confined him to his home and restricted his communications, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi announced his resignation on April 7, handing his powers to a new leadership council as Yemen entered into a fragile ceasefire that brought a rare pause in the years-long conflict.

Citing anonymous Saudi and Yemeni officials, the Journal said that Riyadh's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave Hadi a written decree delegating his powers to the council, which consists of eight representatives of different Yemeni groups.

According to the officials, some Saudi officials had threatened to publicize what they said was evidence of Hadi's corruption in their efforts to convince him to step down, the Journal wrote.

Since leaving office, Hadi has been confined to his house in Riyadh and denied access to phones, one Saudi official told the Journal. But another Saudi official said Hadi was encouraged to resign because various Yemeni factions had lost confidence in his ability to lead the Middle Eastern nation.

Saudi Arabia had welcomed Hadi's resignation announcement and pledged $3 billion in aid and support for its war-torn neighbor.

Hadi's internationally recognized government had been locked in conflict for seven years against the Iran-backed Huthis, who control the capital Sanaa and most of the north despite a Saudi-led coalition's military intervention launched in 2015.

AFP