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Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled the country in the face of a rebel advance last month, has tapped his former Prime Minister Khaled Bahah to be vice president in a move aimed at strengthening the embattled executive branch, an official close to Hadi said, The Associated Press reported.

The Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, had demanded the formation of a presidential council instead. Along with military units allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, they control the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north, and have advanced despite more than two weeks of Saudi-led airstrikes.

Mohammed Abdel Salam, a Houthi spokesman, denounced the appointment of Bahah in televised comments on a pro-Houthi channel. He said that the Houthi group will not recognize decisions promulgated by Hadi and that anything pertaining to the country's politics should be decided upon through dialogue within the country.