Yemeni parties welcome cabinet reshuffle

05/04/2016| IslamWeb

A group of Yemeni political parties, organizations and forces has welcomed a cabinet reshuffle, offering its "utmost support" to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The 10-member group said in a statement on Monday it "completely supports" the appointments of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as the new vice president, and Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr as the new prime minister.

They will replace Khaled Bahah, who held both posts.

The reshuffle, announced a day earlier by President Hadi, reinforced "national and political unity", the group said in the statement, a copy of which was sent to Al Jazeera.
The signing parties included The Southern Movement and The General People's Congress.

The statement came as a UN-brokered ceasefire is planned in the coming days between Yemen's warring parties, which is expected to pave the way for the peace talks due to be held in Kuwait on April 18.

The reshuffle boosted the push for peace in the conflict-torn country and would "facilitate the success of the upcoming Kuwait negotiations", the statement said.

The group also expressed its "appreciation and profound gratitude" to the Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, "for their continuing support for the Yemeni people,

Yemen's political leadership and national government in order to end the coup, restore the state's authority and reconstruct the country."

"The welfare of Yemenis, security, reconstruction and the building of a modern, democratic, civil unionist state were the foundations of the republic's values and the principles and objectives of the Yemeni revolution," the statement continued.

The Yemeni conflict intensified in March last year, after Iran-allied Houthi fighters and soldiers loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh - the former Yemeni president - swept across southern Yemen, taking the port city of Aden and forcing President Hadi into exile.

An Arab military coalition began an air campaign on March 26, 2015 to overthrow Houthi rebels.

In October, the coalition began sending regular ground troops to help Hadi loyalists secure their gains, including the recently recaptured Aden.

Five years ago, the Yemeni capital Sanaa echoed with thousands of people calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down and demand regime change.
Inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, protests continued for months.

Emboldened by the political infighting, the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014.

PHOTO CAPTION

Politically powerful army general General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who has been appointed as Yemen's new prime minister [EPA]

Al-Jazeera