Former Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has died at his residence in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the age of 80, Yemen's state-run TV reported on Thursday. No further details were provided.

Hadi was the internationally recognized president who led a fractured government mostly from exile for eight years as Yemen descended into civil war and famine. He stepped down in 2022.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council, paid tribute, saying Hadi believed in the Yemeni people's "right to a just state, freedom and human dignity." The government announced three days of mourning with flags at half-staff.

Hadi fled to Saudi Arabia in 2015 after Houthi rebels overran the capital Sanaa and placed him under house arrest. He handed over powers in April 2022 under a UN-brokered ceasefire, reportedly under Saudi pressure.

Yemen remains divided between the Houthi-controlled north and the government-run south. The war has killed hundreds of thousands, with 19.5 million people needing aid last year. Hadi is survived by his wife Hala and six children.

Source: www.aljazeera.com