SANAA, Nov. 2 — Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi on Monday reshuffled key cabinet and military posts as Houthi advances put government forces under growing pressure.
According to the government-run Saba news agency, the reshuffle in Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani’s government appointed Salem al-Awlaki as information minister, Akram al-Amri as civil service and insurance minister, and Ahmed Saleh al-Awlaki as local administration minister.
Al-Alimi, who is also supreme commander of the armed forces, separately ordered changes to the high-ranking military leadership overseeing the Tur al-Bahah front in the southern province of Lahj, where government forces have been battling a Houthi push toward Aden.
The appointments come as fighting intensifies near the entrance to Tur al-Bahah district, about 80 km northwest of Aden, following recent Houthi advances through the mountainous Al-Maqatirah district in the same province.
The push threatens strategic routes linking Aden and the southwestern province of Taiz and leading to the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said in a statement on social media platform X on Monday that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and two drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi group toward Saudi Arabia, without providing further details.
Recent weeks have seen escalating cross-border hostilities between the two sides, with Saudi strikes hitting Houthi-held areas in Yemen and the Houthis launching missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government. ( Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
