Yemen leader, Shiite militia in deal to end crisis

Yemen's president and Shiite militia reached a nine-point agreement Wednesday under which the militia are to withdraw from government buildings in return for concessions over a draft constitution, state media said.
The Huthi militia vowed to vacate the presidential palace, seized on Tuesday, and to free President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi's chief of staff as part of a deal also agreed by other factions, said Saba news agency, which published the text of the document.
In return, it will now be "possible to amend" a draft constitution stipulating the division of Yemen into six federal regions that the Huthis opposed, the agency said.
"The draft constitution should be agreed upon by all factions," according to the deal, and Yemen "will be a federal state in accordance with the outcome of the national dialogue."
National talks were held in Yemen as stipulated by a UN-backed agreement that eased former president Ali Abdullah Saleh from office in 2012 after a year of deadly protests. Turning the country into a federal state was one outcome of the national talks.   
The agreement also pledges to treat Huthis, known officially as Ansarullah, and other disgruntled factions equally in the allocation of public posts.
"Ansarullah and peaceful Southern Movement and all other political factions deprived of equal representation in state institutions will have the right to be appointed in these institutions," the agreement said.
"These measures will be implemented immediately," it added.
The meeting with Hadi included his advisors who represent some of Yemen's factions, as well as Huthis.
Source: AFP