The entire governmental apparatus of Yemen just resigned.   Outta’ here like a fat kid in dodge ball !!

(New York Times) SANA, Yemen — President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi of Yemen abruptly resigned Thursday night and his entire government stepped down, leaving the country leaderless and possibly opening the way for armed Houthi rebels to take control.
A United Nations official confirmed that Mr. Hadi had resigned immediately after a meeting with his Houthi political opponents, hosted by the United Nations envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, in an effort to resolve the political crisis that has gripped the capital, Sana, for days. Just one day earlier, the two sides had reached an agreement to end the fighting, and aides to Mr. Benomar said he had hoped to ensure that the agreement was carried out.
With Houthi fighters already in control of much of the capital and many areas of northern Yemen, it seemed likely that they would take at least de facto control of the government.

Mr. Hadi’s resignation came less than an hour after Prime Minister Khaled Mahfoudh Bahah said on his Facebook page that he and the entire cabinet were stepping down.

The press secretary for Mr. Hadi said he had formally handed over power to the speaker of Parliament, Yahya al-Raei, who would be required by the Constitution to form a caretaker government. It was not clear, however, if Mr. Raei was taking charge.

An official close to the president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concerns about his safety, said the president believed that he had no choice but to resign. “The president expresses his disappointment at the difficult circumstances and challenges surrounding what is going on from the conflict with the Houthis,” the official said. “For those reasons he resigned.”

The agreement reached on Wednesday brought a temporary end to fighting in the capital, but Houthi fighters did not leave as promised from their posts around the presidential palace, and some officials described their actions as amounting to a coup.

The Houthis denied that, however, and by Thursday had withdrawn from Mr. Hadi’s personal residence. On Thursday only private guards from Mr. Hadi’s home province, Abyan, could be seen outside his home.

There were reports of violence in the province of Marib, an important oil-producing area east of Sana, with the Houthis — whose leaders are Zaydis, an offshoot sect of Shiite Islam — clashing with Sunni tribesmen. Marib is also home to fighters from Al Qaeda in Yemen, bitter enemies of the Houthis. Two people were reported killed on Thursday, according to elders in the area.  (read more)