Updated

Aides to Yemen's embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi say he has met with the U.N. envoy to the country for the first time since fleeing the Shiite rebel-held capital.

U.N. envoy Jamal Benomar has been struggling for months to resolve a crisis pitting Hadi against the Houthi rebels, who seized the capital in September and control much of the north. The rebels placed Hadi and his Cabinet ministers under house arrest in January, but Hadi was able to flee to the southern city of Aden earlier this month.

The U.N. Security Council says he remains Yemen's "legitimate president."

The officials spoke about Thursday's meeting on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.