Yemen appoints new prime minister amid Saudi-UAE tensions
Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salem bin Breik and appointed Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsen Zindani to replace him, the state news agency Saba reported on Thursday.
The report said that Bin Breik formally submitted his resignation, which was approved by the council, before Zindani was named to form the next cabinet.
Breik met PLC chairman Rashad al-Alimi and "submitted the government’s resignation to pave the way for the formation of a new government", a statement published by Saba said.
The PLC, which is the internationally recognised government of Yemen and is backed by Saudi Arabia, said that the current government will continue to manage affairs, excluding appointments and dismissals, until the new executive is formed.
The statement cited as reasons for the change “efforts to restore state institutions, strengthen the unity of sovereign decision-making” and “defeating the coup”, in relation to the latest developments in the country.
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Last month, fighters aligned with the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) swept through south and eastern Yemen, seizing cities, bases, ports, border crossings and oil infrastructure from Saudi-backed tribal forces loyal to the PLC.
The advance outraged Saudi Arabia, which on 30 December bombed an Emirati shipment in southern Yemen and criticised the UAE’s role in backing the separatists. Ryadh then launched strikes on the STC.
Saudi-backed forces subsequently advanced, STC control collapsed and government troops retook Aden and the surrounding areas.
Amid mounting tension between the two Gulf heavyweights, Saudi Arabia then accused Abu Dhabi of facilitating the escape of STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi from Yemen to the UAE via Somaliland.
On Monday, the PLC announced that its forces had retaken full control of the south from the STC.
Middle East Eye reported last week that Aden, the capital that the separatist group had envisioned for a future independent state, was no longer under its control.
The soldiers now patrolling the city were formerly aligned with the STC but had since defected to support the PLC.
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