ADEN- Yemen's president delegated power to a presidential council and dismissed his deputy on Thursday in moves aimed at supporting U.N.-led efforts to revive negotiations to end a bitter seven-year war.

Riyadh announced $3 billion in financial aid to the Saudi-backed government after the announcement by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. It called for talks with the Houthi group that controls the north and has been battling a Saudi-led coalition.

Yemen's warring sides, in a major breakthrough, agreed on a two-month truce that began on Saturday, the first since 2016. The deal eased a coalition blockade on areas held by the Houthis, who ousted Hadi's government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.

"I irreversibly delegate to the Presidential Leadership Council my full powers in accordance with the constitution and the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanism," Hadi, who is based in Riyadh, said on state television.

Hadi took the helm of a crumbling state a decade ago in a Gulf-backed transition plan after protests that brought down President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was later killed.

Analysts say the new council aims to unify anti-Houthi ranks by giving more parties a seat at the table. With Hadi effectively out of the equation and his controversial deputy dismissed, the hope is the Houthis may also be more amenable.

ECONOMIC AID

The war has killed tens of thousands, devastated the economy and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The central bank split into rival authorities and the riyal's depreciation in the government-held south pushed basic goods out of reach for many.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE will each inject $1 billion into Yemen's central bank and the kingdom will grant an additional $1 billion for oil derivatives and development.

Riyadh, which last deposited funds into the Aden-based central bank in 2018, also said it would give $300 million to the U.N. aid response, which in March raised less than a third of the $4.27 billion sought.

The United Nations is pushing for measures to stabilise the economy and launch inclusive political negotiations to end the conflict.

(Reporting By Mohamed Ghobari in Aden and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Writing Lisa Barrington and Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie)