Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who quit last month as Yemen's president following pressure from Shia Houthi rebels, has managed to slip house arrest in Sanaa and is now in his home town of Aden.

Hadi arrived in his power base in the south on Saturday afternoon, after he left his home in the Yemeni capital, which was under siege from Shia Houthi rebels, Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, who is in Aden, reported.

Al Jazeera also learned that he is now holding a meeting with the security council of Aden province, to discuss the situation in the country.

Our correspondent also said that security forces were on alert in Aden, where Hadi has strong loyalty among Sunni Muslims.

Talks between the country's warring factions were immediately suspended after Hadi escaped house arrest, sources told Al Jazeera.

In Sanaa, Al Jazeera has learned that the UN special envoy to Yemen Jamal Binomar also held emergency meeting with Houthi leaders to discuss possible withdrawal of their fighters from the capital to normalise the political situation in the country.

Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelberra, who has covered Yemen extensively, said that given Hadi's health problems, he may announce he has quit and leave the country to seek medical treatment in neighouring Saudi Arabia or the US.

He may also be persuaded by secessionists and powerful tribesmen in Aden, who see him as a legitimate leader, to demand to be reinstated, our correspondent added.

Protesters targeted

The news came as Houthi fighters opened fire on protesters in the central Yemeni city of Ibb on Saturday, killing one person and wounding another, activists said.

The crowd had gathered in a square after a new power-sharing deal was reached on Friday to demonstrate against the Houthis' role in overturning HAdi's government last month.

Following the shooting, thousands more people took to the streets in protest. Witnesses said the Houthis were deploying more security forces in response.

Yemen's feuding political parties agreed on Friday to create a transitional council to help govern the country and allow a government to continue operating with input from rival factions after the effective Houthi takeover.

Western countries are worried that unrest in Yemen could create opportunities for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to plot more attacks against international targets.

Late on Friday a drone destroyed a car carrying suspected members of AQAP in Shawbwa Province, a bastion of the armed group in the rugged mountains of southern Yemen, killing at least three people, residents said.

The US has acknowledged it carries out drone strikes against fighters' targets in Yemen but does not comment on specific attacks. The strikes, which have sometimes killed civilians, have angered many people in the country.

Hadi was seen as a supporter of the use of drone strikes against AQAP.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies