Yemen's internationally recognized government has selected Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak as the new prime minister in a surprise appointment.
Bin Mubarak replaced Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed amid the increasing tensions in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country after a wave of Red Sea attacks by Houthi rebels on ships that have prompted retaliatory strikes by the United States and the United Kingdom.
According to the official Saba news agency, Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council named Bin Mubarak as premier and assigned the outgoing prime minister to the post of presidential adviser on Monday. The council did not explain the reason for the move.
Bin Mubarak, Yemen's former ambassador to the US, is viewed as a fierce opponent of the Houthi rebels. He became well-known in 2015 after the Houthis abducted him while he served as Yemen's presidential chief of staff during a dispute over power with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The seizure of Bin Mubarak contributed to the political unrest in Yemen, which led to hostilities between the Houthis and Hadi's presidential guards and the resignation of the president and the government. He was also appointed the country's representative to the United Nations in 2018.
Mohammed Al-Basha, a Yemen expert for the US-based Navanti research group, said Bin Mubarak is regarded as one of the "architects of the Saudi-led coalition" that intervened against the Houthis in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government.
He claimed that the Houthis are unlikely to embrace the appointment of Bin Mubarak, noting that Bin Mubarak is a longtime adversary of the group. Furthermore, the expert claimed that his appointment "is likely to intensify tensions between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government."
Rising Tensions in Red Sea
The Houthis, who are affiliated with the anti-Israel "axis of resistance" of Iranian-backed groups, have been attacking Red Sea shipping for months, prompting retaliatory strikes from the US and the UK.
The Pentagon reported that the Houthis have launched more than 30 attacks on commercial ships and naval vessels since November 19.
The rebels claimed that the attacks were in solidarity with the Palestinians and a protest against Israel's ongoing war on Gaza since October. The shipping companies are taking a detour due to the attacks over Southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a crucial route typically used by roughly 12% of the global maritime trade.
US and UK forces have retaliated by attacking Houthi missile launchers and other military facilities. The US has also launched a series of strikes.
Bin Mubarak has advocated for greater military backing to government forces following the Red Sea attacks and called on the European Union to label the Houthis as a "terrorist group" in recent remarks.
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